The influential US wine magazine has revealed the annual list of their top 100 wines. “Each year, Wine Spectator editors survey the wines reviewed over the previous 12 months and select our Top 100, based on quality, value, availability and excitement. This annual list honors successful wineries, regions and vintages around the world.” This year there is one Spanish sparkling wine on the list at the 43rd position: Juvé & Camps Brut Nature Cava Reserva de la Familia Gran Reserva 2018.
See the full list of Top 100
Wine Spectator’s team about the wine:
“This is distinctive for its abundantly fragrant notes of medicinal herbs and spices, on the nose and then carried on the palate by the lively, delicate mousse. Well-knit, with vivid acidity framing flavors of macerated cherry and apricot with notes of salted almond. Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada. Drink now through 2026. 208,333 cases made, 10,000 cases imported.”
Vintage 2018 – fruit of excellent quality
Reserva de la Familia is probably the most important brand of Juvé & Camps estate. As it is quoted from Joan Juvé Santacana, president of the estate, ” “We have a special fondness for our Reserva de la Familia because it is associated with our most personal moments, our shared experiences.”. The cava is made of 55% Xarel-lo 35% Macabeo and 10% Parellada and after bottling in January 2019, it aged 36 months on the lees. The vintage 2018 was an excellent one with sufficient rainfall. “The 2018 harvest was the result of a
spring that saw plenty of rain, a situation that especially benefited our Xarel·lo and Macabeo vineyards. As these are rainfed plantations, the water from the intense rainfall saw an increase in the grape yield. There were no special problems with mildew on the varieties used in the Reserva de la Familia assemblage. The area was emerging from an extreme drought and so the bountiful harvest was a cause for optimism at the winery, as the fruit was of an excellent quality.” The cava is Brut Nature, it contains 0 g residual sugar. Chef Carles Gaig – who won a Michelin star in 1993 –, founder of Gaig restaurant in Barcelona pairs Reserva de la Familia with his iconic black truffle flavoured cannelloni: “Reserva de la Familia cava is the perfect companion for our cannelloni thanks to its creamy bubble, which pairs beautifully with the black truffle. The complexity of the ageing highlights the traditional roasted flavours in this dish. The acidity is pleasantly long and fresh on the palate, captivating from beginning to end”.
More about Juvé & Camps
Visit Juvé & Camps!
The winery is situated in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, in the capital of cava (and other Spanish sparkling wines). The building is only a 10-minute walk from the railway station, and the town can be reached with a direct train (R4 of Rodalies) from the centre of Barcelona.
Their “Gran Reserva Visit” visit takes 90 minutes and it costs 30 euros. Visitors can easily book and pay online here.
For visitors with less time the wine bar of the estate is a great option: it is open every day (except for Monday), guests can take a glance at the cellar through the glass wall and they can taste the whole range by the glass.
More about the wine bar
