Cava Brut de Brut

Still or sparkling: the Macabeo can do both. In its native Catalonia, it forms, with Parellada and Xarello, the triumvirate of cava grapes. It gives the sparkling wine its fresh apple fruit; the Parellada provides elegance, and the Xarello contributes body and fullness. Pressed as a still white wine, the Macabeo smells of apple, pear, flowers and herbs. A light almond note often comes as well. This can be tasted in the classic white wines from Rioja: they are made from this variety, which there is called Viura. The Macabeo – also spelled Macabeu – migrated from northern Spain across the border into French Roussillon.

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Almost 200 million bottles of cava are pressed in Spain each year, and the white Parellada is put into almost all of them. It lends its floweriness and elegance to bottle-fermented sparkling wines. Its traditional assemblage partners are Macabeu and Xarello. The first of these ensures the typical apple fruit of cava, the second the body and fullness. The Parellada grape has its roots in Aragon, in northwestern Spain, where it has been known since the 14th century. Today, it grows mainly in the cava stronghold, Catalonia and in the high altitudes of the Penedés near Barcelona. Due to its delicate structure and elegant acidity, it is also called the “Riesling of the Penedés”.

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This vine is almost indispensable for the production of Cava, the Spanish answer to champagne.

Xarel-Lo is cultivated on roughly 1,000 hectares. The vine has a rustic character, yet produces elegant wines. Since the 1990s, however, Xarel-Lo has been increasingly pressed as a varietal wine. These wines are characterized by their golden-yellow color and their richness.

It is speculated that Xarel-Lo is identical to Avesso, a variety from the Vinho wine growing area in northern Portugal. This is also true of the Doradillo variety, which is, however, no longer cultivated under this name.

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