Grimau Brut Rosat

Grimau began making Cavas and still wines back in the 1920s on the site of the medieval castle of Pujades, just west of Vilafranca de Penedès. The winery subsequently moved about 15km east to its current site at the Masia Torreblanca in Olèrdola. The village, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean, is part of both the Penedès and Cava appellation (though Cava is also made in other Spanish regions, including Aragón, La Rioja, Valencia and Extremadura), with the main Cava-producing town, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia just up the road. The 30 hectare Grimau estate is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Merlot, and Chardonnay, as well as the three traditional Cava grape varieties of Xarel.lo, Macabeo and Parellada.

Garnacha may be more readily associated with red wines, but there are plenty of rosé examples to be found in Spain. With a good full mouth feel and lots of generous red fruits like strawberry and raspberry, it’s perfect for a full-bodied Cava like this one.

Pinot Noir is hard to find in Spain, but it has found a small home in Penedès as part of Cava blends. Delicate and aromatic, Pinot Noir fans often rave about its succulent red fruit aromas of crushed strawberries, cherries or redcurrants, sometimes against a background of slightly peppery notes.

Cava is Spain’s most well-known, and most exported, sparkling wine or vino espumoso. Interestingly, while Cava is a Denominación de Origen in its own right, unlike the wines from Spain’s other DOs, Cava is not made in just one geographical area. In fact, there are currently four main growing areas authorized to put DO Cava on the label of their sparkling wines, including Valencia, Extremadura and the Ebro Valley, as well as a host of towns and villages in central Catalunya which is the region most people think of when they hear the word, Cava.

While each growing region has its differences in terms of altitude, orientation or soil types, in general all enjoy a relatively temperate climate with quite mild winters and long, hot summers, especially in the areas closer to the Mediterranean.

About 95% of Spain’s Cava comes from Catalunya, especially from the town of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia in Penedès, which is about 40km inland from Barcelona.

After careful grape selection, the musts from the two grapes undergo the first fermentation separately over a period of 20 days in stainless steel tanks at 16-18ºC. Once the first fermentation is complete, the Pinot Noir and Garnacha are blended together and put in the bottle ready for the second fermentation (this secondary bottle fermentation is the same méthode traditionelle used to make Champagne). The bottles are then aged in the cellar for at least 15 months before release.