The terrific 2006 Enoteca Brut Nature comes from a superb vintage that was very warm. It was produced with 60% Xarel.lo and 40% Macabeo from their Font Jui property (mentioned on the label) with 12% alcohol, a pH of 2.97 and no residual sugar, sharp and dry. It matured in bottle with lees for 180 months, and such a long time in bottle gives tiny bubbles that give the wine a velvety texture. It's very expressive, clean, complex and nuanced, with faint nutty notes, hints of yeasts and bread dough, balsamic and with Mediterranean notes of fennel and esparto grass. It's long, dry, tasty and finishes with some chalkiness. They also do this in Brut style on demand. A tad above the 2004 I tasted last time. It's still unclear if the 2005 is ever going to be sold. 1,800 bottles produced.

2004 saw a good growing season with enough rain during winter for a balanced ripening of the grapes. The 2004 Enoteca Brut Nature Gran is a blend of 65% Xarello and 45% Macabeo that was aged for 169 months (that's over 14 years!) in a cork-closed bottle with the lees. 2004 was an extraordinary year in the region. The wines kept very good freshness, and this shows it; plus, it has the complexity of a long aging in bottle with the lees, which provides aromas of camphor, beeswax and pollen, a touch of royal jelly, baked brioche and smoke. There is some creaminess, even if the bubbles are very integrated, but I tasted from an experimental bottle that was disgorged three years ago. The wine shows a sharper palate, with less volume and a sharper mouthfeel. So, if you like a more austere and sharper wine on the palate, keep it for a few years. This is a great vintage, in line with the 2001. 3,000 bottles produced. It was disgorged by hand, and no sugar was added to top it up in May 2019.

The 2002 Enoteca Brut Nature Gran Reserva aged for an exceptionally long time in a cork-closed bottle containing the lees. The wine was disgorged in November 2017, some 15 years after the harvest. As with most of their top wines, it's a blend of 75% Xarello and 25% Macabeo, cropped from a cold and wet year when the grapes from the Paraje Font Jui were picked on September 1st. This is dry and with very good acidity. It has a purity, harmony and complexity that makes it feel quite superior to the Brut version of this, with great focus and laser-like precision. It has more freshness and length. This is simply superb. still young and lively, quite surprising for its age. It would be very interesting to see how this ages now that it has been disgorged. 2,500 bottles produced.

The 2001 Enoteca Gramona Brut Nature Gran Reserva was put in bottle in January 2002 and was disgorged in December 2014, a very long aging time for Cava standards. It's a blend of 75% Xarello and the rest is Macabeo and there is no liqueur d'expédition (Brut Nature). The long aging places the wine in the category of Gran Reserva and the process is kept as traditional as it gets, with the bottles sealed by cork instead of crown stoppers. 1,750 bottles produced. It's a great Cava, but the price seems a bit over the top. The aromas feel more reticent (perhaps the lack of dosage) and you get more balsamic hints and notes of aromatic herbs, mineral touches of camphor and petrol, nuts and bread dough. The palate is quite sharp, with very good acidity, lively with subtle complexity. I prefer this to the 2000. It would be very interesting to see how this wine evolves now that is disgorged, as the wine seems to grown in the glass and get better and better with time.

During my visit, two older Cavas were disgorged (but are not for sale). The 1997 Enoteca Brut Nature has a lovely, mature, complex nose along with mouth-filling fruit, impeccable balance, and a refreshing finish. As my visit in January 2011 made clear, Gramona ranks as one of Cava’s finest producers. Importer: Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565