2004 Recaredo Reserva Particular
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The 2004 Enoteca Reserva Particular de Recaredo comes from the regular Reserva Particular that was kept to be released later. This was disgorged after 17 months in bottle with lees, and they still have bottles to do more disgorgements in the future. This was produced with 67% Macabeo and 33% Xarel.lo, and for them, the vintage was clearly rainy and cold. The wine keeps very good freshness, but at the same time, it has a dense palate. It has ripe fruit, quince, with lively bubbles that give a tickling sensation. It has great aromatic complexity, and it evolves with time in the glass, when I get marzipan and toasted bread. It's balsamic and Mediterranean but keeps the balance and freshness, and it's impossible to guess its age. It's a very gastronomic wine. They are thinking of releasing some 500 or 600 bottles around Christmas 2022 and save more for their centenary in 2024.
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Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
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The 2004 Reserva Particular is a blend of 64% Macabeo and 36% Xarello which aged for 112 months in contact with the lees and it was just disgorged. It feels extremely young with abundant toast notes, aromas of Mediterranean herbs, fennel and aniseed, freshly-baked apple tart and chalk. The palate is seamless, medium-bodied, but with a silky, velvety texture that seems to grow in your mouth as the extremely small bubbles explode and fill your palate. I was lucky to drink a bottle of the 1984 vintage of this wine that winemaker Ton Mata was generous enough to disgorge and open for us to drink, the first they produced, and it was still going strong, with superb balance and elegance. I am sure the 2004 will age with grace for a long time. Drink 2015-2024. Recaredo is a very old Cava house, as they have been grape growers and wine producers since 1924, but they have come to the forefront of the quality leaders recently. They have worked very hard for that, especially when it comes to work in the vineyards and respect for nature and tradition. They only use grapes from their own vineyards in the Alt Penedes zone, which are worked organically and biodynamically (Demeter certified). All grapes are hand-harvested and vinified by them and the wines are aged sur lie with cork stoppers. They are disgorged by hand without resorting to freezing the neck after no less than 30 months in contact with the lees and regular hand turning of the bottles. No liqueur de expedition is added to any of the wines, they are all Brut Nature. All wines are produced from a single vintage. I’m not sure if there is any other sparkling wine producer in the world who works with such strict standards, but what is most impressive is that all that is certified for the wines produced in the last ten years! Congratulations to the Mata family and to winemaker Ton Mata for such achievement. There is a sense of energy and harmony in their wines that is impressive; they are all highly recommended. Prices for the top-bottling can be steep, but the regular Brut Nature is a bargain. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Maspeth, NY; tel. (518) 207-9100, www.madrose.com