Tuesday 14 November 2017

Beta Sur NV 12.5%, Bodegas Barbadillo

Appearance
Bright pale gold with golden glints and a persistent bead of very fine bubbles.
Nose
Clean and super fresh with apples, apple tart, yeasty bakery aromas with a mineral edge and traces of crystallised fruit and flowers. The Palomino gives it the apple and the Chardonnay gives it a bit more breadth and seriousness and a buttery hint, but there is still a trace of wonderful Sanlúcar wildness.
Palate
It starts out fresh and crisp with a faintly saline mineral note and plenty of apple, then the Chardonnay comes through with more weight and with an almost toast and butter flavour. Acidity is perfect giving it an attractive tang, and the lack of any dosage means the wine is very dry and elegant without sugar obscuring the flavour. It is beautifully balanced (or poised, even) and much more complex than Beta Brut and more intense with a long super clean finish.   
Comments
This is a new version of the well-established and successful Beta Brut which was the first traditional method sparkling wine produced in Cádiz. Beta Sur is made from the same Palomino and Chardonnay grapes hand-harvested from the firm's own albariza vineyards, and is fermented in stainless steel tanks at low temperature for 2 weeks before bottling for the second fermentation. It is then allowed to age on its lees in bottle for 20 months rather than 9. This allows the wine to absorb more flavour from the lees and develop an even finer mousse. After ageing, the lees are disgorged and the level in the bottle is topped up with the same wine rather than a mix of wine and sugar (dosage) allowing it to be categorised as brut nature as it contains under 2 g/l sugars. While the label does not declare a vintage it is almost certainly 100% 2015. The blend works really well, and the wine is delicious.
Price
8 euros ex bodega


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