Juvé & Camps unveils Xarel.lo premium Cavas

Two new premium Cavas produced entirely from 100% Xarel.lo were unveiled by Juvé & Camp’s new deputy director Meritxell Juvé and winemaker Antonio Orte at a tutored press and trade tasting in London earlier this month.

Xarel.lo is considered the hallmark of many of Juvé & Camps’ wines; and these two new Cavas demonstrate not just the quality and varietal characteristics of the grape, but also its ageing potential.

Juvé & Camps Essential 2012 is a Reserva style Cava created from 100% Xarel.lo with aromas of fennel and almond and intense savoury flavours on the palate. It has been released after 30 months ageing, which brings a soft and rounded finish to the wine. The single vineyard Gran Juvé La Capella 2005 is sourced from Xarel.lo grown in the best parcels of the company’s own La Capella vineyard. This is a rich and majestic Gran Reserva Cava, released after nine years ageing on the lees. With a nose characterised by honey and spice with notes of cardamom, saffron and star anise, it is an intense, gastronomic wine that perfectly matches the local Catalan cuisine.

Meritxell Juvé, the fourth generation of the family to have taken the reins at Juvé & Camps, comments: “These new Cavas perfectly express the philosophy of my family. For us there are three main pillars to creating the finest sparkling wines: only using our own grapes from our 260 hectares of organically farmed vineyards; minimal intervention winemaking with a low final dosage to allow the terroir to shine through; and an extended maturation period on the lees. For us this means 48 months on average as opposed to the usual nine months.

“Xarel.lo is also very important for us. Not only does it offer the rich and complex flavours and aromas that are central to our House style, but it also provides the necessary structure and backbone, particularly for our Gran Reserva wines.”

The Juvé & Camps portfolio is available in the UK from Ehrmanns with an approximate retail price of £17.99 for Essential and £62 for the La Capella. They will be rolling into key markets including US and rest of Europe. They were launched in the UK on Friday 8th May.

23 May 2015 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, ediotr