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Alta Alella Mirgin, Rosé Reserva Brut Nature

Other, Spain 2016 (750mL)
$24.00
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Alta Alella Mirgin, Rosé Reserva Brut Nature

Cava is one of the world’s greatest paradoxes: Everyone knows the name, but not necessarily the many brilliant wines bearing that name. Luckily for us, the family behind Alta Alella has worked tirelessly to deliver a hand-crafted bottle of sparkling that checks all the boxes for a serious sparkling wine lover.
Seriously, look at the specs of this $24 (would be $64 if it were Champagne) bottle of sparkling rosé: Every grape comes from Certified Organic, 60+-year-old vineyards; the wine ages longer than non-vintage Champagne; and it was topped off with zero grams of sugar. With such fierce demand for unique, sustainably made sparkling wine in today’s world, Alta Alella’s 2016 Brut Nature rosé is about as buzzworthy as it gets. And at this price, it’s as wallet-friendly as méthode champenoise wine gets. Prices for Champagne have reached all-time highs and they’re not coming down anytime soon, so who in their right mind would pass up this extraordinary, priced-by-the-case Cava rosé? It’s a no-brainer!
While Cava can technically be made in several areas of Spain, the most serious contenders come from Mediterranean-influenced Penedès—a breathtaking area located just outside of Barcelona. Having visited the area several times, I never cease to be amazed by their treat-you-like-family hospitality, the rolling lay of the land, and the dizzying assortment of world-class food and wine. Cava is a headliner in and around Barcelona, and the very best can compete with the top houses of Champagne. Then, there are Cavas, like Alta Alella’s, that drink at an ultra-serious level with a price tag that seems unfair given the cost of production.

In the early 1990s, after several fulfilling stints at prominent wineries across the globe, Josep María Pujol-Busquets and his wife found themselves purchasing a 19th-century manor in the sleepy town of Alella. Situated within Spain’s Alella DO, the estate is a short drive from Barcelona and a far shorter jog to the Mediterranean Sea. 

With the estate came a handful of old vines untouched by phylloxera. When they set about expanding the vineyards, they struck up a deal with the town and were able to break ground in the Serralada de Marina Natural Park. It was here, with coastal influence, great diurnal shifts, and a unique special micro-soil locally known as sauló—which has a heavy concentration of sandy, decomposed granite—where they began crafting their organic, world-class Cava. 

Today’s rosé comes entirely from Mataró (Monastrell) which Josep María made in homage to what he says was “...the first grape variety used for Cava.” After hand-picking their organically farmed grapes in 2016, they were sent to the winery for a brief maceration and stainless steel fermentation. Afterward, the resulting wine was transferred into bottle and laid to rest until late 2018. No sugar was added post-disgorgement. 

With bright salmon and vermillion hues, the wine is simply gorgeous to look at, but it isn’t long before its piquant fruit and floral aromatics captivate you. You can also expect a dazzling array of vibrant, crunchy berry fruit—Rainier cherry, wild strawberry, raspberry, redcurrant—to effortlessly pirouette around your palate with zippy acidity, finely crushed rock minerality, and a few squeezes of fresh citrus on the finish. Do not underestimate just how unbelievably refreshing and palate-cleansing this rosé is—one bottle will disappear in a nanosecond! Serve to a crowd in all-purpose stems around 50 degrees, have another one or two chilled bottles on standby, and pair it with a number of light appetizers. Make sure the attached canapé recipe is in your wheelhouse. Cheers!
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Country
Spain
Region
Other
Sub-Region
SpainAlella
Soil
Sand & Decomposed Granite
Farming
Certified Organic
Blend
Mataró (Monastrell) 100%
Alcohol
12.0
TEMP.
45-50
Glassware
All-Purpose White Stem
Drinking
Now-2022
Pairing
Smoked Salmon Canapé

Spain

Eastern Spain

Montsant

The Montsant DO is Priorat’s downslope neighbor in northeastern
Spain, but other than differences in altitude, there isn’t much else to tell their terroirs apart. Both appellations contain some of the world’s greatest old-vine Garnacha (Grenache) in soils of fractured granite and shale known locally as llicorella. It is a Mediterranean climate, with wide diurnal temperature swings.

Eastern Spain

Penedès

Technically, a wine labeled ‘Cava’ can be produced in several different regions, but Penedès, on Spain’s northern Mediterranean coast, is its
spiritual home. The climate is Mediterranean, the soils a favorable mix of limestone (key in pre-serving acids), sand, and clay, and Cava sparklers are crafted in the traditional ‘Champagne’ method. The traditional grapes used for Cava are Xarel-lo (cha-RAY-yo), Macabeu, and Parellada.

Northwestern Spain

Galicia

Galicia is lusher, colder, wetter, and greener than most of the rest of Spain, especially where wine-growing
is concerned. Viticulture up here is some of the most “heroic” in the world, as vineyards cling to impossibly steep slopes along snaking rivers such as the Miño and
the Sil. The influence of the Atlantic Ocean is profound, often lending wines a salty, “sea spray” character.

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