Wine of the week: Casteller Brut Rose NV

The two most unappreciated wines in the wine world are rose and sparkling wine. Don't believe me? Let the Wine Curmudgeon quote from sales data: Nielsen doesn't even track rose, which is apparently lumped in with blush wines, a category that includes white zinfandel. As near as I can tell, maybe two out of every 100 bottles sold in the U.S. between March 2010 and March 2011 were rose. And sparkling? The Wine Institute reports that about 135,000 cases of bubbly were sold in the U.S. in 2008. Which is less than the wine sold by the two or three biggest wineries in Texas in a normal year.

Hence this Mother's Day wine of the week, which is both rose and sparkling -- and cava to boot, which makes it a terrific value. The Casteller ($12, purchased) has a bit of what Champagne geeks call yeastiness (and is a good thing), a burst of strawberry fruit at the front, and a surprisingly long mineral finish, something rarely seen in a a wine that costs this little. And the bubbles? Long, lingering and lovely, which is also a surprise in a wine at this price. The Wine Curmudgeon loves Cristalino, and this wine makes Cristalino seem quite ordinary.

Toast Mom with this wine on Sunday. She'll appreciate it. It's also a fine food wine; pair it with any sort of brunch dish, main course salads or grilled chicken. And, if you need a little variety, Casteller makes a regular cava, also about $12, also worth checking out.

Comments

[Tom Johnson]

You say "rose, which is apparently lumped in with blush wines" as if White Zin isn't a ros. But it is. In fact, it's the best selling ros in the world. Why run away from that?

[Wineharlot]

Great tip.
I love sparkling wine, roses and QPR, so I'll be checking this pick.
Cheers!

Nannette

[Jeff Siegel]

Tom, just because you don't like rose, don't ruin everyone else's day. Go pick on Tom Wark about HR 1161.

[Gretchen]

I have had both the red and the white from Casteller. Both are great values and lots of fun.