Xarel-lo, it’s not just for Cava!
Pronounced “Char-el-Lo” with a Spanish accent of course, Xarel-lo
is a white wine grape varietal from Spain that is one of the three grapes used
in making Cava (Spain’s sparkling wine). In this review’s case it’s the only
grape they used in making this still wine.
Raventos i Blanc continues their boss-like status producing
excellent wines at an extraordinary value. They recently released two Xarel-lo
with a vintage of 2015; “Sliencis”
and “Extrem”. The super cool part was
tasting the similarities and differences these two wines offered. Grab a
friend, a couple of glasses, and have your own taste test!
Raventos i Blanc
Xarel-lo “Silencis”, 2015 – From
50 year old vines this has gripping aromas of pear, lemon-lime, pineapple with
flavors of lemon, crisp minerality, delicious acidity, and finishing off with the salt of the sea (yeah,
I said that).
Raventos i Blanc
Xarel-lo “Extrem”, 2015 – A
Bouquet of fresh lemon juice and minerals followed by flavors of sharp citrus
coating the mouth. It’s a fuller-bodied Xarel-lo with what I found interesting,
some chalkiness. Give this wine some time in the glass and the aromas and
flavors will evolve into something pretty spectacular! The intensity calms down
and the true character of the wine comes out showing you elegance, creaminess
and the love that they put into this.
So which did I prefer? At first I was totally in love with Silencis but after I gave Extrem more time in the glass I started
to enjoy that one more. So being the diligent student that I am, I tasted back
and forth between the two wines over and over again. Honestly, I love them
both, I can’t decide. But I’ll keep drinking these two bottles in hopes of
coming up with an answer soon (or take a nap).
Sláinte! TCW
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