The Last Eleven, #9: Loxarel, Reserva Familiar Brut Nature, Penedes 2011
Cool and weird. This wine is cool and weird.
This is another one of those wines that starts with a guy and ends with a less-than-storybook finish. But I'll write it that way anyway!
Once upon a time, a fair knight came to visit the Princess of Bubblyon at her palace. He was celebrating having just passed his advanced knighthood exam and the princess, considering him a friend from Instagram and honoring the traditions of hospitality, treated him to the finest offerings the castle had to offer in celebration. Great times were had by all. As he left, the knight gave the princess a big hug and remarked that he somehow did not yet have her phone number but wished to, so she gave it to him. That evening he sent her an endearing note asking her on a date for the next evening, which she happily accepted.
The next evening was nothing if not enchanted. He was charming, kind, and could match the princess' dagger-sharp wit. She reveled in the small gifts that barkeeps would bestow upon them once they were recognized for the industry royalty they were. A match of this caliber felt like a formidable one, undoubtedly. They talked all evening and he walked her home across the whole kingdom for nearly an hour so they could continue their conversation, rather than take a chariot which would have ended the night far too soon. Even when traversing the more treacherous troll-ridden parts of the kingdom, the princess felt safe with the knight. Past the stroke of 1am they arrived at her castle and he bid her farewell.
The next few days, the knight and princess exchanged many notes. One morning the princess and her friend went to breakfast and wine shopping and her friend, noting the princess' smiles every time she got a message, asked what could possibly have her in such a jolly mood. The princess excitedly told her friend about the kind knight and her friend was just as thrilled for her. They went to the market of wines and the princess picked out an unusual bottle--a brut nature vintage Cava from 2011. Cava is not often bottled as a vintage and even less usually made brut nature or aged extensively. The shopkeeper assured her it was still a fascinating creation, made for a true appreciator of wines to defy expectations. The princess agreed to take it home, intending to share it with the knight who loved wine as much as she did. On the way home in her friend's chariot, she snapped a picture of the wine and sent it to the knight, describing it as "cool and weird" and insisting she needed to drink it with someone "cool and weird" like himself. He must have appreciated her cheeky jeer because he asked her out again for that evening. They did not drink the Cava that night, instead she kept it in her wine collection for a later date. They had a lovely time that evening, and again a couple of evenings later. They seemed to fit together as well as two pieces of armor, and she could be honest and truthful with him in a way that she was with very few others. None of the court had seen the princess so happy in ages and they rejoiced that her seemingly endless stream of bad luck had let up.
Alas, it had not. The knight stopped replying to the princess' notes after about a week and despite her efforts to reconcile, she never saw him again. The only trace of their short-lived romance was the sprig of a plant picked during their first walk through the kingdom and a cool, weird, lone bottle of Cava. The End.
Epilogue: After several months the knight did send the princess a note about a few subjects that would be visiting her palace. The princess was having none of it. But after another few months passed, the princess received news that she would be traveling to another far off kingdom, an entire ocean away from Bubblyon. In the spirit of leaving the kingdom on good terms, she sent a brief note back to the knight apologizing for her previous venomous reply and expressing her desire to make amends. The knight, surprisingly, apologized in return for his behavior. Free from any remaining loose ends, she could finally leave the kingdom with the closure she needed.
---
Okay, back to reality (whoops, there goes gravity).
On the last Saturday of 2018, I was at work with a few of my favorite people talking about how one was getting married the following Wednesday. Forget all of the traditional white poofiness and that just popped into your head with that word though; this chick is an untraditional badass whose ceremony would be at city hall and party would be at her favorite wine bar while she wore a stunning backless red dress and elegant fur coat. She’s far too cool of a person for all the shenanigans that usually accompany a wedding.
Which is why it took us aback when out of the blue she said, “We should have a bachelorette party!”
Being that it was a relatively slow night and my third-to-last day at the job, I dropped what I was doing and started brainstorming. We settled on smuggling wine into a karaoke bar in the Fillmore and texted all her friends to meet us there after work. Given that a lot of people are lame and won’t drop what they’re doing to go karaoke-ing at midnight with a few hours’ notice it ended up being just us and her mister-of-honor (a damn good friend if I ever met one). We had a blast. There’s nothing like belting out some Spice Girls and Queen with people that you can be your silliest with. We rocked out until they closed at 2am, but we were having far too much fun to call it quits so everyone came back to my house.
I popped open the Cava and it was not only delicious, but perfect for the occasion. A last-minute karaoke bachelorette party is a pretty cool and weird way to spend the wee hours of a Sunday morning, and the wine that for too long was associated with being let down got to be shared with a group of people that come through for each other.
And so they drank happily ever after.