Xarel·lo () is a white
grape variety
This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, Zante currant, currant, sultana (grape), sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimp ...
of
Spanish origin specially grown in
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
.
With
Macabeo and
Parellada, Xarel·lo is one of the three traditional varieties used to make the
sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne ( ...
cava. Spanish plantations stood at in 2008. Xarel·lo wine can be strongly flavored and is more
aromatic
In organic chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property describing the way in which a conjugated system, conjugated ring of unsaturated bonds, lone pairs, or empty orbitals exhibits a stabilization stronger than would be expected from conjugati ...
than the other two cava grape varieties.
While historically the grape was only produced as part of regional blend in Penedès and Cava, modern winemaking has evolved in the last 20 years to where it is being seen in the form of varietal wines. High-end Cavas have been produced which feature the grape prominently such as Gramona's Enoteca or then as 100% of the finished wine in: Sabaté i Coca's Reserva Familiar, Recaredo's Turó d'en Mota,
and Mas del Serral from Raventos i Blanc.
Synonyms
Xarel·lo is also known by the following synonyms: Cartoixà, Cartuja, Pansa, Pansa Blanca, Pansal, Premsal Blanca, Xarelo Blanco, Xerello.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xarel lo
Spanish wine
Grape varieties of Spain
White wine grape varieties