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Technical details
- Producer: Grimau
- Region: DO Cava
- Vintage: NV
- ABV: 11.5%
- Grapes: Xarel-lo, Macabeo, Parellada
Food pairings
This wine will go well with:
- On its own
- White Fish
- Blue Fish
- Shellfish
- Pork
- Pasta Dishes
- Rice Dishes
Who makes it
Grimau began making Cavas and still wines back in the 1920s on the site of the medieval castle of Pujades, just west of Vilafranca de Penedès. The winery subsequently moved about 15km east to its current site at the Masia Torreblanca in Olèrdola. The village, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean, is part of both the Penedès and Cava appellation (though Cava is also made in other Spanish regions, including Aragón, La Rioja, Valencia and Extremadura), with the main Cava-producing town, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia just up the road. The 30 hectare Grimau estate is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Merlot, and Chardonnay, as well as the three traditional Cava grape varieties of Xarel.lo, Macabeo and Parellada.
The grapes
Grimau Brut is made from the most popular combinations of grapes when it comes to making Cava - Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo.
Macabeo is a fairly adaptable grape variety. Cava producers like it because it does well absorbing secondary flavours from lees contact while the wine is being made in the winery. It can also bring some nice orchard fruit flavours to a wine, as well as aromas of white fruit.
Parellada is most commonly found in Cava blends like Grimau, although some more boutique Catalan producers are beginning to experiment with single varietal wines. It's a bit of a workhorse grape, ripening quite late which suits the Mediterranean climate and giving quite high yields. Parellada brings floral and white fruit notes to Grimau Brut Cava, but also adds a good kick of acidity to keep the wine balanced and fresh.
Again, most commonly found in Cava blends, Xarel-lo is a thicker-skinned grape variety that can tolerate a wide range of soil types and climatic conditions. It can produce wines with intense aromas and flavours, and brings a touch of herbs and an 'earthiness' to the Grimau Brut blend.
Where it's made
Cava is Spain’s most well-known, and most exported, sparkling wine or vino espumoso. Interestingly, while Cava is a Denominación de Origen in its own right, unlike the wines from Spain’s other DOs, Cava is not made in just one geographical area. In fact, there are currently four main growing areas authorized to put DO Cava on the label of their sparkling wines, including Valencia, Extremadura and the Ebro Valley, as well as a host of towns and villages in central Catalunya which is the region most people think of when they hear the word, Cava.
While each growing region has its differences in terms of altitude, orientation or soil types, in general all enjoy a relatively temperate climate with quite mild winters and long, hot summers, especially in the areas closer to the Mediterranean.
About 95% of Spain’s Cava comes from Catalunya, especially from the town of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia in Penedès, which is about 40km inland from Barcelona.
How it's made
Following careful manual selection in the vineyard, the grapes go into stainless steel tanks for a first primary fermentation over 20 days at a steady temperature of 16ºC. Once the wine from the three different grapes has been blended together and bottled, the Cava goes into the cellar to undergo its secondary fermentation in the bottle and a minimum of 15 months of bottle ageing before it goes on sale.