NV Marques de Caceres Brut Cava Sant Sadurni d'Anoia 750 ml

When the best ranked Spanish producer on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list debuts a new Cava, we empty our glasses in rapt anticipation. 

Especially when that Cava receives a Best of Show Cava and Gold Medal at one of the world’s most prestigious wine competitions and a Wine & Spirits Best Buy designation right out of the gate. Sure enough, the Marqués de Cáceres Brut Cava is as elegant and expressive of its coastal Penedès terroir as we would expect from this benchmark producer.  

That this Brut Cava is, frankly, awesome came as no surprise. It’s $14 price, however, remains a shock to anyone lucky enough to get their hands on this native varietal blend. 

It exceeds expectation upon sight alone, with silver and gold shimmers reflecting through the pale straw hue, piercing through a lively mousse of fine, persistent bubbles. Bright, zesty aromas draw you in, with green apple, lemon rind, and faint, sophisticated notes of brioche. There is a fantastic balance on the palate between fresh pure fruit and a slightly yeasty brioche that gives a whole new Cava spin to the idiom “Champagne taste on a beer budget.” 

Although Marqués de Cáceres is probably best known for their Top 100 wines from Rioja, they long had their sights set on Cava, but were only interested in the Penedès region’s most coveted clay and limestone soils in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (just 30 miles west of Barcelona). 

Using their decades of expertise with old vine material, they waited patiently for years before finally securing the 25+-year-old vines which they knew would be best equipped to translate that pitch-perfect coastal Mediterranean terroir. 

As a result, only indigenous Cava varieties—50% Xarel.lo, 30% Macabeo, 20% Parellada—are used, and vinified to preserve their distinct, native character. This puts Marques de Caceres in a rarefied group of Cava producers that rely on Spain’s native character to make their Cava truly unique. In this bottling, hand-harvested Viura adds floral aromas and an inimitable freshness; while Parellada provides the creamy base and Xarella adds earthy, nutty tones that make this Cava incredible. 

After harvest, the grapes are chilled down to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and very gently pressed to obtain only the free-run juice, which is what gives this Brut such a clean, soft profile without any grippy edges. 

From there, the second fermentation takes place underground. It’s aged on its lees for almost a full year—enough time to acquire a correct balance of varietal fruit, leesy richness, and perfectly integrated bubbles that outperform many Cavas at twice the price.

A simply delicious Brut, with a crisp balanced profile, soft edges, and ultra-clean finish from a benchmark Spanish producer, it’s no wonder it took the Gold Medal and Best of Show award at Mundus Vini 2020, Germany’s stringently structured competition of international wines (and a notoriously difficult crowd to please).   

Those of us who bought our own cases plan to set a couple of bottles aside for a year or two just to see how this overperformer evolves. How many $14 sparkling wines can you say that about?