2022 Julia Bernet Corpinnat Brut Nature - Cuvee U

Anyone who’s looking for good quality-price ratio sparkling wine knows about Cava, Spain’s answer to Champagne. By law, Cava is made in the same way as Champagne, the so-called Traditional Method: secondary fermentation in the bottle to create the bubbles, and then disgorgement to clear the sediment. Cava is big business, and production is dominated by large producers in the region of Catalunya. In 2018, nine Cava producers broke away from the appellation to form their own micro-appellation in the heart of Penedès, just west of Barcelona: Corpinnat (a Catalan-Latin mash-up meaning “the heart of Penedès”). There are now 15 producers in the Corpinnat appellation, whose rules include 100% organic vineyards, harvesting by hand, and vinification on their winery premises - in other words, artisanal farming and production. 

Xavier Bernet (Júlia is his daughter) is in the higher-altitude Alt-Penedès, whose cooler nights give a pleasing tautness to the wines. 'Cuvee Ú' is 100% xarello from Xavier’s certified organic vineyards. After fermentation and six months in stainless tanks, the wine is lightly filtered and bottled without dosage or added SO2 and aged in bottle for two years before disgorgement. The wine is appley, stoney, and lightly floral, with a flinty edge - less creamy than most Cavas, but with texture and complexity from the bottle fermentation. Some ideas: aperitivo, jamón and other embutidos/charcuterie, grilled leeks (a classic pairing in Catalunya), all things fried.