Modern Cava is putting serious pressure on other international sparkling wines, and this stunning bottling shows why! Long derided as overly sweet and lacking character, many smaller producers are now producing wines that rival their more expensive French counterparts. This brisk, sprightly wine offers fresh scents of green apple and white peach on the nose, with a subtle undercurrent of chalk and sea spray. Fresh and firm, the juicy apple flavour is complemented by a rich lees-derived power and a hint of hazelnut. Properly dry, this drinks like an elegant Blanc de Blancs champagne. The fine and delicate effervescence gives it finesse and complexity.

If there’s ever been an ideal time to start getting into Cava, then this is it. With Catalan wineries riding high on a winning combination of both reverence for tradition, and a sideways approach which constantly asks ‘where next?’, Cava has come out of the shadow of other leading sparkling wine styles and has begun to make serious waves around the world. The Spanish tend to keep the best stuff for themselves (and when their wine is this good, who could blame them?), which is partly why you won’t have heard much about Julia & Navines winery, nor will you be able to find much information about them on the web. However, you can rest assured that this characterful, small, independent winery, nestled in the hillsides above Spain’s north-eastern rocky coast is the real deal, with local Macabeo, Parellada and Xarello grapes being put to the best possible use. Bodega Julia & Navines wear their Champagne influence on their sleeve, and yet their produce is unmistakably Spanish. They blend the best of both worlds: a distinctive mix of French finesse and Spanish passion, which is reflected in their traditional methods, small batch, organic-influenced approach and ferociously independent spirit. Hand picked grapes, grown beneath the blazing sunshine and cooled by fresh sea breezes, resulting in a Cava impossible to forget.