Wine Region: Penedès

(2023) A few Champagne houses, notably Moët & Chandon, have launched special 'Ice' versions of their standard wine, specifically made to be enjoyed poured over ice. Following a very similar path, this from Cava giant Freixenet, is blended to be sweet and rich. Garnacha and Pinot Noir are blended and aged for a year on the lees, the wine bottled with 45g/l of residual sugar making it 'Semi-Seco', the equivalent of Demi-Sec in Champagne. Raspberry and icing sugar aromas leap from the glass, a little touch of buttery pastry from the time on the lees too. In the mouth there's definite sweetness and buoyant fruit flavour, but the acidity is really very good meaning this has balance. I think perhaps the pressure is slightly lower too, so that there is no real feeling of dilution. Good fun this - not a serious wine, but we all need a bit of frivolity in our lives now and again. Watch the video for more information.

(2023) A pink vintage Cava made from Pinot Noir, this spent 20 months on the lees. A delicate salmon pink, the nose is pretty with a touch of elderflower to raspberry and something a little riper, like guava or mango. In the mouth more of that full-fruited character, this is all about fruitiness and pretty floral characters, though the acidity is very well judged and the cushion of mousse gives a quiet sense of opulence. Quite unusual and very enjoyable.

(2023) Roger Goulart is now part of CVNE of Rioja, and this wine, aged five years on the lees, is a blend of the classic Cava grapes, Xarel.lo, Macabeo and Parellada. Aromatically I may have guessed at Chardonnay, with biscuit and a touch of creamy butter, ripe stone fruits and lemon. Bubbles are moderate, the mousse soft, and there's an impression of sweetness in the mouth, quite simple but deliciously drinkable fruitiness with decent acidity and a citrus peel hint of waxy richness.

(2022) Rioja's CVNE make this wine in Penedès near Barcelona, the main region of Cava production. It's made of the three classic Cava varieties. It has a really inviting nose, creamy with custardy brioche, and a ripe, golden delicious apple fruitiness. In the mouth keen, crisp acidity slices through toasty and nutty richness, in a very stylish, easy-drinking and moreish sparkling wine. The price of £9.99 if buying a mixed six bottles (or one in Scotland) is very attractive.

(2022) With fewer than 3,000 bottles produced this is a blend of Torres best Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot from their Agulladolç vineyard, matured for 18 months in new French oak barrels. Deep ruby to crimson in colour, the nose is suffused with black fruits and spices, a graphite and cedar quality, a little hint of olive herbaceousness adding a lovely elegance and lift. In the mouth there is plenty of creamy, firm, quality oak giving a light balsamic touch to the copious black fruit. That sweet fruit flood the mid-palate, before ripe, fine but firm tannins and excellent, very natural feeling acidity gives balance. A very classy rendition of Bordeaux style, done with great aplomb.

(2022) A single vineyard wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon that has long been the signature of Torres' ultra-premium range, first made in 1970. The wine is a vineyard selection of fruit, fermented in stainless steel tanks and oak foudres, then aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 60% new oak. It's a very fragrant cassis-laden Cabernet, a sense of polish and precision, the oak taut and adding gloss rather than any overt toast or smokiness. There's a subtle hint of more herbaceous olive. Beautifully ripe and mouth-filling fruit, but there is a welcome touch of austerity too, with vivid acidity and fine but gripping tannins giving a firm texture which, against the succulent black fruit, builds spicy tension in the finish. Very good and cellar-worthy.

(2022) I very much enjoyed this organic Cava, made from the tradtional varieties Macabeo, Xarel.lo and Parellada. It opens with a really custardy, creamy nose, the mousse full and cushiony, before beautifully ripe fruit sweeps across the palate. There is a sense of sweetness here, though the wine is Brut, but the acid does its job very nicely, freshening and sharpening the finish in a classy and delicious wine.

(2022) The giant French company behind this product (which I believe is made in Spain) failed to have 'Nosecco' accepted as a brand name, but the intention is surely obvious. It's an alcohol free fizz, or as the label so appealingly puts it, an 'aerated flavoured drink based on de-alcoholised wine'. I have no idea what grapes are used, but that really is unimportant in a product like this, a neutral base sparged with CO2 and flavoured with who knows what. It smells floral and herbal, reminding me of other alcohol free wines flavoured with elderflower and green tea for example, and the considerable sweetness - which I think might be as high as 50g/l of residual sugar - offset by decent levels of acidity to leave it refreshing enough. So why is a serious wine site recommending this? Well it's the start of 'Sober October' for some people looking to have a month without alcohol, and as long as you don't take it - or yourself - too seriously, it does its job well enough at a giveaway price - as low as £2.50 occasionally. Very widely available. Watch the video for more information.

(2022) A big name in Cava production, but such a nicely made inexpensive fizz. Like Champagne, it is made by the traditional method with second fermentation in individual bottles, from the three classic Cava varieties: Macabeo, Xarel.lo and Parellada. Fine small bubbles and creamy apple pie aromas, little herb and citrus notes. Fresh, zippy and yet with plenty of ripe pear fruit, it is mouth-filling in texture and finishes with good balance and a bit of length too. At £8.00 a nice - and different - alternative to Prosecco. Watch the video for more information.

(2021) This organic certified Cava from the 2017 vintage is made from the three traditional Cava grapes, all grown on estate vineyards. It has a touch of gold to the colour and there's a note of custard on the nose. Fruity, with a little fig note, then the palate is boldly flavoured: a blast of citrus slices through quite ripe, sweet fruit, a wine balancing sweetness with a tangy sourness of orange and grapefruit, this is personality-packed stuff.