Gramona III Lustros Brut Nature 2016

Lustros 2016 hails from an extremely dry year in Penedès, yielding extremely small, concentrated grapes. Accordingly this is a decadent, bold and up-front style for this cuvée, with a big race of sweet mandarin, orange blossom, roasted lemon and apricot, bolstered by lees-ageing richness. It's lightly creamy and toasty, with coffee and brioche notes that will grow with time – it will continue to open up over the short term. 65% Xarel-lo and 35% Macabeo with 86 months on lees. 2025-2029

The 2016 III Lustros Brut Nature has a more developed nose with notes of hay and straw, quite Mediterranean, from a warm and dry vintage (the driest since 1940) but healthy and with low yields, 80% in the case of Xarel-lo and 50% for Macabeu. The blend is slightly different this year, as it's only from the lieu-dit of Font de Jui, produced with a blend of 64% Xarel.lo and 36% Macabeu with good concentration and a round palate, reflecting the conditions of the year. It has very fine bubbles and a very tasty finish. Font de Jui is a little lower in altitude and has slightly younger soils. Again, I see more precision and clarity here. The biodynamic practices are certified by Aliances per la Terra (their own association in which all the growers are certified by Demeter). 36,000 bottles produced. It was disgorged after no less than 90 months in bottle with lees, closed by a cork stopper.