Score : 93/100
The cuvée De la Finca by famous catalan producer Raventós i Blanc comes from a historical vineyard located about 50 km to the West of Barcelona in the heart of the Penedès wine region of Catalonia.
The vineyard called Vinya dels Fòssils or Vine of the Fossils is, as its name suggests, characterized by its abundance of marine fossils deposited on a calcareous base rock. On papper, this type of limestone soils give plenty of minerality, sometimes even salinity especially to fine sparkling wines.
Viticulture here respects the principles of biodynamics. Spontaneous vegetation coverage is left to develop, encouraging biodiversity and fertility, and giving the soil a lot of life. Animal manure is used rather than fertilizers, while plants and herbal infusions are spread to minimize the use of copper and sulphur.
De la Finca is a blend of the traditional Cava blend of grape varieties: 50% Xarel-Lo, 40% Macabeu, and 10% Parellada.
After fermentation and assemblage, the second fermentation happens in the bottle following the Traditional Method. The sparkling is then aged for a minimum of 3 years on its lees in a horizontal position.
No “liqueur d’expédition” or dosage is added, so we are here with a Brut Nature or Non-Dosé.
Disgorging date is stated on the back label.
So how good is 2013 Raventos i Blanc de la Finca?
Tasting Notes
This fine bubbly comes in a shiny and bright gold color. Literally, shiny like sparkling gold!
Straight from the first smell, it strikes with its intensity, and more importantly its depth.
It’s very hard to identify just a few clear defining notes for its nose. There are numerous aromas, a whole lot of them in fact in many spectrums: sweet spices, oak and dairy, floral, iodine and minerality. But they’re all so in some sort of harmony, that none is dominant.
Lilly and daisy flowers, roasted hazelnut, vanilla, amaretto (almond) liqueur, seashore are randomly what you can pull out of this complex, powerful yet extremely elegant aromatic profile.
From there, the palate is the real revelation.
While the nose was horizontal, with all the notes playing together with none taking the lead, in your mouth, they all find their place and moment to be expressed over the few seconds you give them on your tongue and during the long finish.
At first, you get a solid burst of solid intense flavors, spices, flowers and citrus and tropical fruits.
Oily texture marries very fine bubbles and silky tannins on the mid palate providing a smooth experience, yet driven by a refreshing acidity.
Minerality and iodine-like feel rides all along the tasting amplifying the feeling of freshness.
The finish is a little dry which provides savoriness and an enjoyable mouth-watering feel. More importantly, it’s very long and layered with hazelnut and spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, and more) paired with jammy tropical fruit.
Overall
A remarkable piece of sparkling magic, with constant tension between floral character and freshness, and richness, intensity and depth of the oaky roasted flavors. The linking factors? Minerality, acidity, fine texture and refined bubbles!
What else needs saying? Try it if you get a chance. And give it time for appreciation.
It would be easy to overlook what this bubbly has got to say.
Analyze it carefully though, and you will find there’s a lot going on here all in a great balance.
Enjoy 🙂
Check Out De La Finca in Video
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