2018 Mestres Visol Gran Reserva Brut Nature

The Visol Gran Reserva is the first cava in history without added sugars after disgorgement (Brut Nature - 1945 - Josep Mestres Manobens - the patent holder of the term Brut Nature). In the glass, the Visol has a beautiful golden color with greenish reflections. The perlage is superb, with fine, beautifully integrated bubbles that develop in the glass. On the nose, this is a very elegant cava that reveals aromas reminiscent of barrique aging: toasted bread, dried fruit, and pastry with a very structured mouthfeel. Very fresh and mature fruit, without the tannin and astringent flavors often present in many cavas aged in barriques. This is a so-called Vintage Cava, meaning it is produced from a single year and only in the best years.

Drink the wine between 8-15ºC and Mestres advises drinking it at around 14-15 degrees. The Visol Gran Reserva Brut Nature is a blend of Macabeu (35%) Xarel lo (45%) Parellada (20%) coming from vineyards planted more than 50 years ago. Also with this Visol, two corks are used for each bottle to make the cava. The base wine is fermented and matured in chestnut barriques on its lees for 6 months. The second fermentation in the bottle is completed in contact with the first 100% natural cork, in a horizontal position for more than 60 months in the traditional bottle, again on its lees. After disgorgement (manual process of removing the dead yeast cells), the second cork and the accompanying plaque are placed in the bottle.

FACT: Mestres always printed the disgorgement date on the label, and Mestres is one of the few houses that opts for traditional aging methods and is the godfather of "Long Aged Cava." Under the Attachment tab, you can find an article by Jancis Robinson praising these great Cavas, which have a level of quality that most top Champagne houses can't match. In the Penedes report of the Wine Advocate from late September 2022, LUIS GUTIÉRREZ writes: " ....To me, Mestres is the top quality producer in Cava, and they are somehow specializing in long aging and larger format bottles (magnums and larger). They are aiming at a segment of the market that has been neglected by the appellation: they look for drinkers of high-quality Champagne rather than trying to compete with Prosecco. To me, they are the best Cava producer today, with a great balance between acidity, oxidation, and bubbles."

ABOUT MESTRES

The MESTRES family has been documented in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia since 1312 as vineyard owners and traders of grains and wines. The family has been involved in the wine world for 29 generations. At the time, 1312 was considered the year the MESTRES vineyards were founded.

During Christmas 1928, the first bottle of Cava MESTRES was released, produced by Josep Mestres Manobens using grapes from the 1925 vintage. From that date on, the family specialized in producing sparkling wines with very long aging, made according to the Champagne method, namely the traditional method. From that moment on, they focused solely on high quality, and MESTRES became a reference and benchmark for top cavas. Josep Mestres Manobens is the one who started with a high-quality base wine to make a 'champagne' (méthode 'champenoise') Cava without adding a sugar-liquid (used for extra fermentation by most houses), which he called "Visol" (WINE ON IT'S OWN). At Mestres, they work only with wine and no additives. This is how the first Brut Nature was born and has been registered in the Patent and Trademark Office since 1948. Mestres are therefore the parents of Brut Nature. Today, the 29th generation of the MESTRES family follows in the path of their predecessors and maintains the restless and enterprising spirit that characterized the MESTRES family, a winery with seven centuries of history.

Throughout these years, we have been able to follow tradition and respect a philosophy of unique development, elevating the name MESTRES and the word CAVA to excellence. Mestres is a living history of Cava. Today, each of MESTRES's Cavas receives very high ratings. One hundred percent of Mestres' sparkling wines are aged in bottles under cork. Mestres is a very traditional Cava producer and is compared in style to the "López de Heredia & Tondonia" of Cavas.

WINE AND FOOD SUGGESTIONS:

• Shrimp croquettes with lemon mayonnaise
  The freshness and mousse of the Cava cut beautifully through the creamy character of the croquettes and enhance the seafood flavour.

• Baked whitefish with fennel and lemon
  The wine's fresh acidity and subtle toasted notes complement the light, aniseed-like flavours of fennel and the fresh citrus accent beautifully.

• Salad with goat cheese, roasted beetroot and walnuts
  The contrast between creamy cheese, earthy beetroot and crunchy nut is nicely refreshed by the wine's tight, dry style.

• Chicken fillet with creamy mushroom sauce and tarragon
  The structure of the Cava holds up to the creaminess of the sauce, while the spiciness of the tarragon adds an extra layer to the pairing.

• Salmon tartare with lime, avocado and coriander
  The elegant mousse and subtle brioche notes of the Cava enhance the freshness of the dish and create a harmonious whole.

• Lobster with saffron risotto and a frothy beurre blanc
  The wine's complexity and fine bubbles elevate the creamy, salty, and aromatic elements of this dish.