Notes
The most mature of Muscandia's wines, this vintage now approaching 11 years. The Brut Nature Gran Reserva Magnums are aged at a depth of 13 meters below ground in a centennial cava (cellar).
Apart from the maturity of this wine, magnums age far better when compared to standard 750ml bottles, the process is slowed due to thermal inertia and the smaller exposure to oxygen through the cork relative to the volume of the wine in the bottle.
The cellar is one of the first to be established in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Penedès. Thanks to the depth of the cava below ground, it maintains a natural constant temperature of 16ºC year-round.
Made with the traditional varieties of El Penedès; Xarel•lo, Macabeu, and Parellada; using the Brut Nature method, meaning there is no expedition liquor or sugar added before final corking, unlike many Champagnes.
Having been aged for 11 years, this Cava displays beautiful complexity and creaminess while still maintaining its freshness. The aromas are clean but with distinct notes of an aged wine such as freshly baked pastries, yeasty notes, as well as deeper toasted notes. The wine's delicate micro-bubbles form fine streams of rosarios (rosaries) and coronas (crowns). On the palate, it is extremely smooth, mouth-filling, well rounded, and creamy.
The wine has a phenomenally balanced structure, something that can only be achieved with time.
Riddling, clarifying, and disgorgement are all done manually by Eduard Viader.
Riddling is the process of hand rotating each bottle, stored in pupitres, by small increments so that the lees and sediment accumulate in the neck of the bottle near the cork. Disgorgement is the process of purging the bottle, shooting the yeast sediment (lees) out of the bottle before final corking. Clarifying is done naturally using good old-fashioned gravity and time.
Muscàndia is a family owned winery run by Eduard Viader, who's family name has been deeply tied to the Penedès region since 1823. Read more about the history below in the 'winemaker' section.
Facts
Annual Production: 3500 bottles (the club has access to 300 annually)
Type: Cava
Body: Light
Palate: Extra Dry
Finish: Creamy & Complex
Grape Variety: Xarel•Lo, Macabeo, Parellada
Viticulture / Farming: sustainable Farming - Terroir Driven
ABV%: 11.5%
Residual Sugar Content: 3g/L
Ageing: 8 years in the bottle in "rimes" 13 meters below ground
Winemaker: Eduard Viader
Bodega: Muscàndia
Region: Penedès, Catalunya
Designation of Origin (DOQ): DO Cava
Micro-Climate: average temperature of between 12º C and 14º C, minimum temperatures that rarely fall below 2º C and maximum temperatures of 27º C. Average rainfall of 514 litres per m2 and 2,548 hours of daily sunshine per year.
Elevation: 200 meters above sea level
Age of Vines: TBD
Soil: TBD
Tips
- Drink now or keep for up to 5-8 years
- No need to decant, simply open just before consuming
- Pairs well with any fish and seafood dishes, Italian pasta dishes, sushi and sashimi and other Japanese dishes, Manchego cheese (any goat and sheep milk cheeses), white and poultry meat, Jamón Ibérico, paella and other rice dishes
- Ideally served well chilled
Terroir
El Penedès is one of the richest and most diverse wine-growing regions in Europe. The particular combination of sunny plains dotted with small valleys and hills mean that the vineyards produce unique varieties which define the cavas produced in this region.
Situated between the pre-coastal mountain range and the plains of the Mediterranean coast, the Penedès Designation of Origin is divided into three main areas: Baix Penedès, which has a warm climate and is near the sea at an altitude of less than 250 m., Penedès Superior, a cooler area at the foothills of the pre-coastal range, with altitudes of up to 800 m. and Penedès Central, which lies between them. This difference in altitude and the diverse geography have given rise to a wide selection of micro climates.
The Penedès climate is typically Mediterranean, temperate, warm and mild, with many hours of sunshine and little rainfall which make it the perfect region for growing grapes.
The mountains that protect these areas and their proximity to the Mediterranean coast protect the region from cold winds, giving rise to an average temperature of between 12º C and 14º C, minimum temperatures that rarely fall below 2º C and maximum temperatures of 27º C. The region has an average rainfall of 514 litres per m2 and 2,548 hours of daily sunshine per year.
Vinification & Ageing
Aged 8 years in "rimes" in the cava. Manual riddling in pupitres. Manual disgorging, bottle by bottle. Brut Nature, zero dosage of liqueur d'expedition.
Winemaker
Muscàndia is the personal adventure of brothers Albert and Eduard Viader. Their family name has been deeply tied to the Penedès region since 1823, when their great grandfather opened the first pharmacy in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, which later became the first laboratory to focus fully on viticultural and oenological analysis (the scientific study of wine).
Many of the rudimentary processes that are taken for granted by wineries today were first established by the Viader family. Their grandfather, Narcís, performed the first yeast-count under a microscope, something that is essential to quality wine-making today.
Both Albert and Eduard were drawn to the wine world from an early age, and encouraged by the prospect of producing a signature cava, applying all their ancestral knowledge. Eduard studied Agricultural Engineering and later focused on oenology. He embodies the spirit of Muscàndia and works with a blend of professionalism and enthusiasm in the small winery. Eduard is responsible for the blending operations and has no qualms about stacking, clarifying, disgorging and even affixing labels, absolute care and a meticulous attention to detail is what he and his brother learned from their forefathers.
In 2009 the Viader brothers carried out their first bottling operation of Cava Muscàndia. At that time, Albert was 27 and Eduard was only 21. As was the case back then, every process is carried out by hand, with a limited production using the local grape varieties of Penedès.
The centennial legacy on which Muscàndia is based is evident in the winery, a small establishment set up one hundred years ago in the center of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, and one of the first in the town. Muscàndia cavas are aged between twelve months and five years, and stored at a depth of thirteen meters below ground, to maintain a constant temperature during the aging process.
Eduard and Albert’s hands are part of every step in the process, because they believe in a job well done, as they like to say this is “el valor de ser pequeños” (the advantage of being small).
Ratings
Rating Coming Soon
