Light yellow color with hint of copper; lime, citrus, bread on the nose; citrus, grapefruit, tangerine, spice on the palate.
Creamy, firm acidity, fresh, light body, minerality-chalk on the somewhat austere finish; very tiny and persistent bubbles. Blend of 50% xarello, 30% macabeo, 20% parellada; organically grown; vegan. To contribute complexity and fine, delicate bubbles, the wine spent 18 months on the lees after fermentation in the bottle. Totally dry—no dosage added.
Bodega managing director Michel Gillieron Maveran Parellada carries on tradition started in 1901. Don Pablo Parellada married the daughter of the Marquis of Naveran and purchased farmland-vineyard for the family. After the phylloxera epidemic, Don Pablo replanted with parellada (a grape named in honor of the family), which has become a major grape in Spanish cavas. Pablo left the estate to his daughter, Antonia, who married a Swiss, René Gillieron. In 1975, René and his son, Michel, who holds a degree in oenology from the Ecole d’Ingénieurs Changins in Switzerland, decided to significantly increase production. In the continued development of the enterprise, Michel founded Cavas Naveran in 1984.
Today, the Naveran estate includes 272 acres near the town of Torrelavit in the Alt (high) Penedés region in the far northeast corner of Spain. Caves Naveran is a premium cava producer that uses only estate-grown grapes.
Spanish cavas are made using the same method (methode champenoise) used to make Champagne but cavas sell for fractions of the cost. Naveran Brut Nature Vintage Cava 2013 is an example of the affordable high quality; it can hang with non-vintage sparklings—even those from Champagne—and it costs significantly less. $14-16
Other photos: Michel Gillieron Naveran Parellada, Naveran vineyards (from website)
