Extra Seco
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2023
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Spicy Asian cuisine, traditional Spanish tapas like garlic shrimp, and mild creamy cheeses or fruit-based desserts.
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the historic cellars of Bodegas Faustino, a name synonymous with Spanish winemaking excellence since 1861, this Cava Extra Seco represents a harmonious bridge between Riojan heritage and the traditional sparkling methods of Spain. While Faustino is globally recognized for its iconic Rembrandt-adorned bottles, their venture into D.O. Cava showcases their mastery of sparkling wines. Crafted using the traditional method, typically from a blend of Macabeo and Chardonnay, this wine benefits from the cooler clay-limestone soils of the region. The 'Extra Seco' style provides a delicate touch of residual sweetness that beautifully balances the crisp, vibrant acidity, offering notes of yellow apples, ripe pears, and white spring flowers, underpinned by a subtle, creamy complexity from lees aging.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1861 by Eleuterio Martínez Arzok in Oyón, Bodegas Faustino remains an icon of classic Rioja viticulture under the multi-generational stewardship of the Martínez Zabala family. The estate commands approximately 650 hectares across Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alta, with core holdings spanning Oyón, Laguardia, and Mendavia. Here, Atlantic-influenced continental conditions and clay-limestone soils provide an ideal canvas for late-ripening Tempranillo, alongside Graciano, Mazuelo, and Viura. Viticulture emphasizes sustainable stewardship, certified under Sustainable Wineries for Climate Protection. In the cellars, Faustino champions prolonged elevage in American and French oak followed by extended bottle resting, maintaining an inventory of over 60,000 casks and millions of maturing bottles. While the bodega produces crisp Viura whites, fruit-forward rosados, and method traditional Cava Reserva, it is universally revered for Faustino I Gran Reserva—an archetypal, cellar-worthy benchmark distinguished by tertiary spice, refined leather, polished acidity, and its iconic frosted bottle bearing Rembrandt's portrait.
🍇 Grapes
Macabeo, Xarel-lo, Parellada, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir