Mestres, Cava, Brut Reserva
Mestres is said to have six vintages of stock aging in their cellars in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, a small village not far from Barcelona in the heart of Spain’s Penedès DO. They bottled their first sparkling wine in 1925, in a winery facility that was finished in 1861, and they were the first to officially register the name “Cava,” in 1959. That’s a lot of dates, but here’s one more: the first records of the Mestres family as vine growers and négociants dates to 1312.
Technically, a wine labeled “Cava” can be produced just about anywhere in Spain, but Penedès, on the northern Mediterranean coast, is its spiritual home. The climate is Mediterranean, the soils a favorable mix of limestone (key in preserving acids), slate, and clay, and Cava sparklers are crafted in the traditional Champagne method. Because of the scale of most Cava production and its favorable pricing, it’s easy to forget that last point.