Elegant Sparkling Wine Vinegar from Catalonia, Spain
Agustí Torelló Mata Cava Vinegars are estate-made from their own distinctive cavas—and great wine makes great vinegar. Agustí Torelló Mata Sec (Dry) Cava Vinegar is made from the same grapes that comprise the holy trinity of traditional cava: Macabeu, Parellada and Xarel-lo. It has a crisp, clean flavor profile with stone fruit notes (apricot, peach, nectarine) and hints of vanilla. It is barrel-aged for more than 18 months, yielding a smooth, elegant acidic foil, and offers a bit more residual fruit than champagne vinegar.
An exceptional tool in the pantry, use Agustí Torelló Mata Dry Cava Vinegar to marinate homemade anchovy boquerones or to add nuance to mixed seafood ceviche. It excels in a mignonette for oysters and makes a stellar quick-pickle of cauliflower, green beans and red pepper. Simple vinaigrettes and dressings love this dry Cava Vinegar. Also try White Balsamic Sweet Vinegar.
About Producer
Agustí Torelló Mata did a winemaking stage in the Champagne region of France as a youth, returned home to his village of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia (the “capital” of cava, in the heart of the Penedès region of Catalonia, Spain), and eventually created his own cava—the DO Spanish sparkling wine produced using the méthode champenoise.
His estate winery is famous worldwide for handcrafting superlative, regionally expressive cavas—using only indigenous grapes from local vines—that reflect the unique terroir of Penedès. The winery produces mostly Reserva and Gran Reserva cavas, as the long aging creates a complex bouquet not found in younger wines (one of Agustí Torelló Mata’s cavas was the house cava at El Bulli. At the close of the restaurant, the staff took a cruise on a trimaran, stood on deck and drank cases of it, toasting goodbye).