Rimarts

Last March I was vacationing in Sitges, Spain. Everyday I would leave the apartment I was staying in turn right and head to the beach. Then one day I decided to walk the other way. I passed a small wine shop and went inside (no surprise there) where I clumsily communicated that I didn't speak Spanish. “No problem! We can speak English!”, was the reply from the young woman who then asked, “You like cava?” Famous. Last. Words. The wine shop is called Glop’s Vinateria, the young woman is Mara Calvo and within 24 hours she and I were at Rimarts. This is a very special cava produced by two brothers, Ernest and Ricard Martinez, who have an extraordinary eye for detail. Detail? Yes, detail.

When we arrived, we were greeted by Ernest who showed us the vineyards. Ernest explained that the proximity to the ocean combined with the position of the mountains creates an optimal growing condition called a “microclimate”. A microclimate is a small atmospheric zone that is different from the area around it. This tiny detail can have an enormous impact on the quality of the grapes which are grown on their 14 hectares (Xarel-lo, Macabeo, Parellada, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir). All of Rimarts cavas are produced by method champenoise and are aged longer than what is required for their designations, creating a higher quality Cava.

Inside the the cellar it is clear how important attention to detail is for Ricard and Ernest. The 70,000 bottles that Rimarts produces each year are made using the same method that is used in champagne production and each bottle is riddled by hand. Riddling is the technique where the bottles are inverted, placed in wooden racks (called pupitres) and rotated while increasing the angle of the wine so the yeast cells (called lees) collect in the neck of the bottle. To give you an idea of how rare this process is now, it is usually reserved for special fancy schmancy vintage champagnes. Riddling is done before the cava can be disgorged which as you might guess, is also done by hand. Disgorging is the process where the crown cap is popped off to remove the lees all while losing as little cava as possible. This process is usually practiced today by machine and the lees are often frozen with nitrogen. At Rimarts they skip the nitrogen because it mares the clarity of the cava and disgorge by hand. I was fortunate to have a private demonstration of the disgorging process, first hand and by hand. It was pretty cool.

Rimarts produces seven different types of cava: Brut Reserva, Brut Nature, Gran Reserva, Reserva Especial Chardonnay, Uvae (aged more than 60 months), Martinez Rosé (named after their father, Ricard Martínez de Simón), and Rosae. The Rimarts Rosae is made by aging rosé made from pinot noir in a barrel that has been smoked. The passion and attention to detail can be tasted from the first sip of the Brut Reserva to the last drop of the Uvae. It is one of a kind and clearly unforgettable.