Alta Alella Bruant Cava Brut Nature 2014 - DO Cava; c.23€; 12% abv; 100% Xarel.lo
"Organic, natural, no added sulfites," it says on the label. So it contains carbon, does not have any supernatural compounds like unicorn tears or dragon blood and for some reason does not add a very useful antioxidant though antioxidants are all the rage with woo types. The wine itself is actually quite intriguing - though I think it might be polarizing. I like it since it is a study in neutrality. It is kind of like Sake in how it makes a positive out of there being nothing there. I can't really talk about fruit flavours; I can't really talk about tastes. I can only talk about structures and those are delightful: small bubbles, fairly high but not harsh acidity, lively, refreshing, moreish. Since we so often talk about attributes a wine has, it might be difficult to adjust one's view to this since in a way it is quite intangible in comparison to most wines with not much there and that kind of being the point. But I like neutrality - as is probably evident from my Muscadet fixation - so I was intrigued by this. I'd like to try it again and will probably do so soon again though the price isn't exactly cheap for a Cava.
Herencia Altés Garnatxa Blanca 2014 - DO Terra Alta; c.13€; 13,5%
This was another type of neutrality. There is some hay and some richness - I don't know if this is from the grape or if there is in addition some lees ageing. Crisp though there is a bit of broadness on the palate. But it never ceases to amaze me how different neutral wines can be. Neutrality is a fascinating world to explore.
Inspired by this week's Rioja tasting I bought the only traditionalist producer's Rioja we have available in Alko, CVNE Viña Real Reserva 2010. And it's a pretty decent drop. It is something like 23€ in Alko which isn't too bad considering how expensive a place Alko usually is.
Quite an ungiving, reticent aroma for the first couple hours. It takes plenty of swirling and time for any aromatics to climb up my nostrils. But when they finally do that, it is quite delightful: some savoury leather and tart berry aromas (lingonberry or something like that).
Quite primary still on the palate but it does have nice levels of acidity so it's refreshing and moreish. The oak isn't really all too noticeable but I'd still prefer a couple more years on it.
Nice even now once it gets enough air to open up a bit. But it seems more like a candidate for the medium than the long term. Try again in a couple years? Though the funny thing I've noticed with old style Rioja is that sometimes they evolve at a glacial pace so I wonder if I'll say the same in a couple years? And a couple more after that?