Raventos i Blanc L'Hereu Reserva Brut 2013
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Wine &
Spirits -
Robert
Parker
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The grapes are harvested by hand and rapidly delivered to the winery, where they are processed via a gravity flow system. At each stage of the production process the atmosphere is controlled by dry ice. Assemblage is followed by bottle fermentation and ageing for at least 15 months in the neck-down position.
Blend: 40% Macabeo, 40% Xarel-lo and 20% Parellada
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Wine & Spirits
Pepe Raventós farms his vineyards with biodynamic practices, blending this from macabeo (45 percent, the vines planted in 1999), xarello (40 percent, the vines dating to 1986) and parellada (the oldest parcel, from 1971). In 2013, the cool season emphasizes this wine’s liveliness, its bubbles seeming to levitate on the tongue, rising over the fresh flavors of peaches, apples, spices and minerals. It’s not imposing in its structure or substantial in weight, but its flavor depth lends the wine impressive length.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 L'Hereu Brut is produced from what Pepe Raventós considers a great vintage that will be considered historic in the future. That year they harvested 25 days later than the recent average, so the grapes had time to ripen slowly to perfection with a long cycle that also held acidity and the wines are very fresh. This is sourced mostly form the Viña de la Plana, which has plenty of clay on the chalky mother rock (120 centimeters below) and quite deep soils that produce wines of good freshness and balance. They also use part of purchased grapes from organic growers as their idea is to keep some 20% of grapes from external suppliers. They like to work with some of the old-timers, the local people that know and understand the zone. The wine blends the three traditional grapes, Macabeo, Xarello and Parellada and ages no less than 18 months in contact with the lees (with a maximum of 30 and an average of 24). It is Extra-Brut (five grams of residual sugar). The powerful and expressive nose is really fresh, mixing fennel, aniseed, bread dough, in a very balanced, elegant and subtle way. The palate is extremely fresh (the signature of the vintage) and balanced with amazing weight of fruit, the lees/yeasts do not overpower the fruit and the finish is very long. This is one of the best sparkling wines in its category and price range, especially in this vintage.
Pepe Raventós is the 21st generation of the most exciting Spanish Sparkling producers, Raventós i Blanc.
With a documented history of viticulture back to 1497, officially creating the first sparkling wine in Spain in 1872 by Josep Raventós i Fatjó, the Raven- tós family are one of the best sparkling wine produ- cers in the country.
Pepe Raventós, of the current generation, is a dy- namic and forward-thinking man and honed his expertise with internships alongside the late, great Didier Dageneau in the Loire and Domaine Hubert Lamy in Burgundy, before returning to the family domaine to produce exceptional sparkling wines from their biodynamic, fossil-rich terroir.
In 2012, Raventos i Blanc withdrew from the Cava DO to initiate a new, terroir driven appellation, Conca del Riu Anoia, due to a desire to set a stan- dard in high quality wine production, where rules such as the use of only indigenous grapes, ecologi- cal viticulture (100% Biodynamic), estate-produced and estate-bottled fruit and minimum of 18 months of ageing requirements, apply.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Known for bold reds, crisp whites, easy-drinking rosés, distinctive sparkling, and fortified wines, Spain has embraced international varieties and wine styles while continuing to place primary emphasis on its own native grapes. Though the country’s climate is diverse, it is generally hot and dry. In the center of the country lies a vast, arid plateau known as the Meseta Central, characterized by extremely hot summers and frequent drought.
Rioja is Spain’s best-known region, where earthy, age-worthy Spanish reds are made from Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache). Rioja also produces rich, nutty whites from the local Viura grape.
Ribera del Duero is gaining ground for Spanish wines with its single varietal Tempranillo wines, recognized for their concentration of fruit and opulence. Priorat, a sub-region of Catalonia, specializes in bold, full-bodied Spanish red wine blends of Garnacha (Grenache), Cariñena (Carignan), and often Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Catalonia is also home to Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine made in the traditional method but from indigenous varieties. In the cool, damp northwest Spanish wine region of Galicia, refreshing Spanish white Albariño and Verdejo dominate.
Sherry, Spain’s famous fortified wine, is produced in a wide range of styles from dry to lusciously sweet at the country’s southern tip in Jerez.