NV Rimarts Brut Reserva and DO Cava’s New Image

At the end of March, we threw a little shindig for Ryan on his birthday consisting of wine, mounds of grilled butifarra and dozen friends. And with the appropriate social graces, many of our friends came bearing gifts, all looking distinctly similar to a bottle of wine. Clearly, they had been well versed in the ways of gift giving for an uber-wine geek!

The Rimarts Brut Reserva from Sant Sadurni d’Anoia is one of Ryan’s birthday bottles which has been sitting patiently in the refrigerator just waiting for the right moment to be uncorked. And today just happens to be the lucky day as new friends for the States have been invited for a traditional Catavino Cookout on our terrace complete with grilled chicken, butifarra, grilled peppers, artichokes, and of course, regional cured hams and cheeses.

The strangely appropriate timing of this grand uncorking comes just one day before DO Cava releases their brand new image, coupled with the new slogan, “From the Land to the Heart”. Can you hear the violin’s playing the background and feel the gentle wind ruffling your hair, as you overlook their vast, rolling vineyards? As told on the Wines of Spain website, the idea behind this heart warming slogan according to DO Cava’s Regulating Council, Gustavo García Guillamet, is to encompass the entire winemaking process, from the very earth where, “Cava is born as a gift for the senses, wooing one’s emotions and going straight to the heart”. Question: Do you suddenly feel compelled to savor a glass of cava based on this eloquent and moving slogan? Are your keys in hand prepared to buy up a few cases of brut, brut nature and semi seco cava?

But wait, there’s more. The slogan is being launched in conjunction with their sleek and minimalist new image. According to Gustavo, “It’s a simple silhouette of four bottles where one of the bottles represents young cava aged from 9 to 15 months, the second bottle represents cava Reserva aged more than 15 months, the third bottle represents cava Gran Reserva aged more than 30 months, and lastly the forth bottle represents a cava that boasts the same qualities as the rest but differs because it’s a rosé”. The image is further expounded upon in how each letter describes a characteristic of its particular style. Therefore, “C” stands for ‘Characteristic’ and ‘Convincing’, describing how a young wine is intended to fully express the varieties in their raw form. The first “A”, for its ‘Ample’ character’ and ‘aromatic’ expression of ripe fruit of a slightly old, mature wine. So on and so forth.

Clearly this marketing campaign took a considerable amount of money and time to put together, but is it effective? Personally, I believe this is a complete waste of time and resources, simply because the international availability of cava other than Freixenet, Gramona or Codorniu is still limited, as is the amount of quality and comprehensive information on the web. Take the DO Cava website for example. Is this helpful to you? Would you not prefer that money be spent on effective education and international marketing strategies? Granted, maybe we’re biased, but somehow, I doubt that you’ll be looking at your next bottle of cava, while standing in the middle of your wine shop, saying, “So, this ‘c’ stands for a young cava that I should drink now.”

So we’re a bit skeptical of their campaign, but that doesn’t mean that we will ever stop drinking cava, and this particular one is no exception. Albeit a wee flat on the finish, we loved the creamy caramel notes on the wine, accompanied by a lush round mouthfeel, and we definitely would try another bottle to see whether the acidity is merely a flaw in this particular bottle or emblematic of the wine.

That said, we’d like to know what you wish DO Cava would spend their money on? What resources are you craving to help expand not only your Cava education, but also the accessibility?

Cheers,
Gabriella

Gabriella’s Tasting Note

Ryan’s Tasting Note
Light golden color with medium large bubbles. The nose on this is bready with with a nice lemon cream undercurrent, and light caramel nut notes on top. Really a pretty wine. In the mouth the acidity and vigor is low, ending with a flat finish. Though I really like the flavors of marzipan, nuts, lemon, and creamy yeast. Incredibly flavorful and a real treat on the palate. Ony with it had a bit more spritz and acidity. 3/5