Mas Candí Brut Nature Corpinnat 2019
First I tasted this sparkling wine, put down my notes, tasted again and again on the next day. Then I read Parker notes – tasting notes by Luis Gutiérrez wine expert on WineAdvocate.com, the influential American wine website founded by Robert Parker. Gutiérrez gave the wine 91 points out of 100. With this I can agree.
But the tasting note? As if he was tasting something else. “…young and fresh, so drink it young. It has notes of fennel, aniseed and Mediterranean herbs, dry and with a tasty finish.“.
He tasted the wine in September 2022, it spent a massive 18 months on the lees. I tasted half a year later (now, March 2023) and I found it fresh and youngish, but with plenty lovely notes of maturation.
My tasting notes:
“Sweet biscuit, peach and mango on the nose. Caramel, toffee notes, reminiscnet of something sweet, even though it is clearly dry. It has its own personality, a unique style. Full body, tiny bubbles, hazelnut and other nuts on the palate in great harmony with the fruits. it fills the whole mouth. Creamy texture. Medium length. The aftertaste repeats those stunning notes I have discovered on the nose.”
Retail price in Spain is between 10 and 11 euros.
Sumoll? What?
This sparkling wine is made of three varieties, two of them are members of the typical trio of Penedés sparkling wines: 56% Macabeo and 28% Xarel.lo. The third one is the less known indigenous Sumoll variety with 16%.
Sumoll is a black grape variety originating in Catalunya and there are less than 300 hectares. The name sumoll comes from the latin ‘submollaire’ meaning ripening – the large bunches of sumoll ripen late, but then this fertile vine gives a lot of fruits. “DNA profiling has unexpectedly shown that Sumoll is identical to Vijariego Negra from Andalucía ” – as we can read in the book Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz.
Mas Candí
It is a relatively new winery, though the family have been growing grapes on their own land since the 16th century. The winery might be considered medium size – less than 40 000 bottles were made of the above described 2019 Brut Nature. The estate is located in Penedés – obviously, otherwise they could not produce Corpinnat brand. The name of the EU recognized brand itself means “Born in the heart of Penedés” since Penedés wine region in Catalunya is considered to be the best place to produce sparkling wines within Spain.
