Cava and Tarragona - Day 3

Cavas Vilarnau. Pic. - GB

10-Jun-09 - Just one visit this morning, to Cavas Vilarnau, part of the González Byass (GB) empire, also in Sant Sadurní. The company was founded in 1948, bought by GB in 1982, and the present bodega was completed in 2004: spankingly modern, surrounded by immaculate vineyards and gardens. Most of the grape (120,000 ha) come from plantations around 800 metres ("for higher acidity") and they're picked overnight (from mid-August for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) and delivered to the winery at 06:00. They, too make still wines, but Cava is 95% of production.

We were treated to a tour of the complex, hosted by winemaker Sara Vela, who, although heavily pregnant, cheerfully escorted us around in the fierce heat - she gave birth to a baby boy, Adrià, two weeks later. I was fortunate in that they are geared up for parties of visitors of all abilities, and they have their own canopied milk-float, to which I acceded gratefully.

Sara Vela amongst the vines.

The installations are, as you'd expect, ultra modern, and include an art gallery with a cinema screen showing an introduction to the winery.

During the vineyard tour Sara brought bunches of the immature grapes to show the various stages of development at this time of year, and explained that night-harvested grapes come into the winery at 15-17ºC, having been hand-selected in the vineyard, and are then chilled to 8-10ºC before a further hand-selection on the sorting tables.

Left to right: Chardonnay, Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Parrelada. This picture was taken on the 10th June. Harvest started with the Chardonnay on the 13th August - 64 days later

The winery has a pleasant dining/tasting room and terrace, and a quite a few GB bigwigs were there, including Chief Executive Mauricio González, as they'd been having a board meeting for Viñas del Vero (DO Somontano), another recent acquisition.

After a reception on the terrace we tasted through the range. These were my top 4:

Vilarnau Reserva Brut Nature - 50/35/15 Macabeo/Parellada/Chardonnay, 2 years on the lees - fresh, herby 'chalky' subtle and complex on the nose, very clean Chardonnay fruit apparent on the foretaste but blends into the mix on mid, with a 'steely-dry' finish. Excellent. 17/20

2007 Vilarnau Brut - 55/40/5 Macabeo/Parellada/Xarel·lo, 2½ years on the lees - some 'meaty' fruit and a hint of richness on the nose, classic Cava style on the palate, big, structured, complex with a clean finish. Delicious. 17/20

Vilarnau Rosé Brut - 90/10 Trepat/Pinot Noir, 18 months on the lees - soft, fragrant potpourri on the nose (Pinot Noir influence) with good, ripe, red summer fruits on the palate: clean, fresh, delicious. 17/20

2008 Vilarnau Pinot Noir Rosé, 18 hours' maceration - dark pink, very 'hi-end' fruit on the nose (ketones?), but spicy, spiky Pinot Noir fruit on the palate, fresh acidity and some real potential even if it is a little austere at the moment. 17/20

Most fascinating, perhaps, were two 'experimental' wines:

2007 Vilarnau PD was 'made by journalists': GB invited them to select the individual cuvées (Macabeo/Parellada/Xarel·lo) and put together the final wine - soft, chalky with a hint of smoke on the nose, clean, fresh gluggable and very pleasant on the palate but with no great character. I gave it 15/20

2003 Vilarnau Método Ancestral is a Chardonnay made by stopping fermentation, bottling, and then allowing the fermentation to continue, in the method pioneered in southern France in mediæval times. It results in a lower-strength wine with some residual sweetness - big, rich, tasty-oaky, smoky, brioche and fruitcake on the nose, slightly 'twangy' fruit on the foretaste, but some underlying richness, and good length. Not for me, I'm afraid, but a wonderful opportunity to try something different.

And then it was time for lunch - we went back on to the terrace to work our way through the Cavas we'd tasted, while the table was relaid, and returned to a sumptuous spread, along with the winery's still wines: Cabernet-Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Xarel·lo (this last was particularly good. I am becoming an aficionado of Xarel·lo).

Vilarnau at sunset. Pic. - GB

Then it was carriages at 15:30. The others were off back to Barcelona airport to catch their flights, but I was heading south to Tarragona. I had offered to get the train (there's a good connection from Sant Sadurní via Barcelona Sants to Reus), but the Institut very generously provided a car to take me the 120 km to Torroja del Priorat. Very civilised, but then, this is Cava country (have I said this before?).