Happy New Year: Agustí Torelló Mata Rosat Trepat Brut Reserva 2009, Cava

Happy New Year Everybody!!!

Like every New Year’s Day I’d like to present to you guys out there a sparkling wine. As always a kind of Fizz I am not very familiar at all. So, accept my apologies for all the ignorance I am about to write right now! Please! It is my first Trepat sparkling after all.

What is Trepat? Trepat is a late ripening, large-berried and pretty frail red Spanish grape variety which is primarily grown in the D. O.’s of Cava, Conca de Barberà and Costers del Segre in Catalonia. In most cases it is used for Rosé and of sparkling Rosé wines – just like my New Year’s Fizz. The producer of my Trepat is one of the biggest and most renowned names in the Cava business: Agustí Torelló Mata. In 1959 he started to open up his own Cava winery. Before this new challenge he was involved in several other Cava ventures. Today, the Agustí Torelló Mata winery is famous for its eccentrically looking flagship fizz Krypta, just the bottle not the actual wine, and its intense and highly balanced Brut Nature from traditional grape varietals. Let’s check out today’s Rosat Trepat Brut Reserva from 2009:

The Rosat Brut Reserva had a copper-red golden colour with robust, pretty small and very productive bubbles. The bubble burst was astoundingly quiet. Compared to the obvious strength of the bubbles. My nose has been indulged with reserved scents of Brioche, rather set back strawberries fragrances, a bit of marzipan and one or two traces of fresh cut mince. The overall character was definitely very straight, clear, precise and not at all Baroque or kitschy. Same overall impression do count for the taste! Unlike not so few Rosé sparkling wines, this one understood to convince me with its seriousness and straight forward character. The taste was very fresh, a bit lean, showed plenty of ripe fruit flavours. Even some traces of dried fruits and raisins. In the focus was a clear and very precise strawberry aroma. A very dry (despite approx. 21 g sugar) and cool impression. Besides that, my palate detected some flavours of not too sweet pastry and marzipan with its sometimes polarizing ingredient rosewater. Here, it worked out nicely! The pressure on my palate and the finish were definitely above average and the actual mousse was strong and maybe a bit less subtle. For me, most definitely a decent **** sparkling Rosé. I enjoyed it! Writing of Rosé – the Bolli Rosé I had alongside was definitely a different story. A more complex, stronger, more profoundly gripping and more rosé'ish story. Did I ever mention that I am not so much into Rosé wines (especially including Rosé Champagne)!? I would not like to describe the Bolli Rosé as baroque, but there were attributes I did not enjoy so much. Despite being a true Bollinger Fanatic! Might be a good explanation why it was a bit difficult for me to choose my favorite of the evening …. remember, just a personal problem!