Bitch Bubbly Spain

68821The Bitch Bubbly is a non vintage Rose’ Cava or Sparkling wine using Garnacha, Chardonnay and Viura grapes grown in the Aragon grape growing region of Spain. The Bitch brand of wines (there is a still Bitch Garnacha as well as the Bubbly) has a convoluted history. Bitch started out as a wine produced under the R Wines Group made from grapes grown in the Barrosa Valley in Australia. The wines importer Grateful Palate went bankrupt, taking R Wines with it, causing repercussions through out the entire Australian wine industry. So, R Wines 30+ wine labels ceased to exist (including Suxx, Darby and Joan,  Marquis Philips, Strong Arm, Boarding Pass and others) never to be heard from again, or so I thought. Because up pops the Bitch Garnacha and Bitch Bubbly only this time they have moved from the Barossa Valley in Australia to Aragon, Spain. The winemaker is still Chris Ringland (he was responsible for all of the wines from R Wines), the label stays pretty much the same, but there is no mention of R Wines or Grateful Palate anywhere on the label. So what we have here is a Sparkling wine that is on the lam, hiding out in Spain, the name is the same but all the details are different. The Australian Bitch Bubbly had an old fashioned soda pop top as a closure and the Spanish Bitch Bubbly has the more common cage and cork. The alcohol content is 11%.

The color is a shiny salmon pink, the bubbles are extremely tiny. The nose is cherry and watermelon, with a touch of creme brulee, then add some orange SweeTarts. I was expecting this to be Dry (or slightly sweet) but this is closer to a Brut wine.  The flavors are light and delicate, but persistent, it starts with tart raspberry and black cherry, followed by a grapefruit half with sugar on top. The mid palate adds unsweetened Sierra Mist, a slight slap of minerality and cherry lemonade. This is definitely a different take on the Bubbly flavor profile. This Sparkling Wine has a solid, well balanced dose of acidity. The finish is subtle but lasts a while.

See also  2009 Seven Hills Viognier

Bitch Bubbly is a wine that you should be able to find for around $10. I am glad that you can get inexpensive Chris Ringland wines again. What he was always able to do, and it’s not easy, was to give you a wine that delivered higher than its price point and was a whole lotta fun. Because if the Bitch Bubbly is anything, it is a whole lotta fun. It’s tasty, the bubbles hit your taste buds with little flavor bombs, then disappear. Yet it has a bit of class, the flavors never go overboard to being too sweet or too tart, there is a classic Bubbly backbone to this wine. So, if cheap, trashy, tasty, yet somehow classy is what you are looking for in a Sparkling Wine, then the Bitch Bubbly is ready and willing.

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Don’t tell anyone, but there is absolutely no correlation between the cost of wine and the quality of wine.

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