Can Sala Paraje Calificado Brut Nature 2008

This year’s global Sparkling wine Masters jury has a winner after collecting hundreds of samples from all major Sparkling Wine producing areas in the world.

This bottle captivated tasters, Masters of Wine and Masters Sumillers for its depth of flavor and layers of complementary characters, which led him to get the highest score from our tasters, who awarded him close to a maximum of 100 points, elevating him to the Sparkling Wine Master 2020.

Magnificent effervescence of creamy texture with layers of flavor, from fresh apple to lemon zest and ripe nectarine and toasted nuts, with a refreshing dry feeling at the end, lifted by a spicy acidity that tastes like fine shavings of citrus peel.

One of the first names to assume the top classification of qualified site Cava. Production: less than 20,000 bottles per year.

Aging: 12 years in Lees.

D.O. CAVA – CAVA DE PARAJE CALIFICADO

“This cava is my and Freixenet’s grateful acknowledgement of an historic debt. A project inspired by a feeling of gratitude to those people who made the birth of our business possible. A return to our roots.

At the place where my parents and grandparents created the first bottles of Freixenet. It all began in Can Sala over a hundred years ago”

José Ferrer Sala

The Can Sala Winery was built in the grounds of the family Estate by Joan Sala in 1901, and is where wines for export were made until in 1914, Pere Ferrer Bosch and Dolores Sala Vivé created the first bottle of Freixenet cava. Nowadays, the Can Sala Winery is equipped with the latest technology. In the new biodynamic winery we have tried to retain the best from each generation. Making our cava how it was originally done, but incorporating the latest winemaking technologies.

Variety

Parellada & Xarel·lo

Winemaking 

The grape varieties used to create the base wine are Xarel.lo and Parellada. They are picked in mid September and early October respectively. The grapes come from meticulously selected vines in the family estate vineyard at Sant Quintí de Mediona, where the chalky soils are perfect for growing these traditional varieties. Picking is done by hand at their optimum point of maturity and brought to the winery to be pressed in the winery’s original press (an original, classic, Champagne press dating from the year 1900) with a yield of barely 50% to give us the highest possible quality must.

The entire process is carried out by gravity, there are no pumps, filters or pipes as this is the only way we can assimilate the original conditions. Once the first juice has been obtained, we start a series of mini fermentations, separating the grape juices by variety, in 4.000 litre capacity tanks, to have total control of wines from the different parts of the vineyard, so that we can subsequently create the ideal blend. The wine is aged in the winery for nine years. The secondary fermentation is done in bottles sealed with natural corks.

Once ageing is complete, the bottles are placed in “pupitres” and then expertly riddled by hand to bring the sediment down to the neck of the bottle. Finally disgorgement is done by hand using the traditional method of “dégorgement à la volée”, literally meaning quickly and precisely in the original French. Just as it used to be done.

Analysis

Alcohol : 12,5% vol.

Total acidity : 3,70g/l

Dosage: < 3 g/l (no dossage) Residual sugar pH: 3,06

According to vintage

Tasting note

A complex, long aged Cava. Cava de Paraje Calificado.

Intense yellow in colour, reflecting its years in bottle. The mousse is elegant and long lasting, showing excellent crown.

On the nose it is clean, with aromas of dried fruits and toasty elements, balanced by ripe fruit compôtes, honey and ripe fruits, predominantly peach. Notes of vanilla. There are significant aromas of freshly baked bread and pastries.

Full on the palate, with a perfectly integrated mousse. This is a fine, long full bodied Cava which is extremely pleasant to drink.

A superb example of a Cava de Paraje Calificado made from Parellada and Xarel·lo.

Freixenet Can Sala Gran Reserva