Recently tasted my way through eight Spanish sparklers – here’s the verdict on the first five, the second video will be on the site soon. And apologies for the dreadful joke at the start…

Waitrose in Partnership Cava Brut NV (Castillo Perelada) (£8.99 Waitrose)
Soft but elegant, a touch of toffee and classic lemon earthiness, ripe and balanced, touch of aspirin, simple but honest and tasty. B(+)

Codorníu Vintage Brut Cava 2009 (£13.99 Tesco)
Quite rich, exuberant style, lots of fruit, more on the tropical edge than just the earthy lemon, plus a touch of raspberry, again good honest and quite gutsy style. B+

Codorníu Selección Raventós Cava NV (£9.99 Majestic, Oddbins)
Mature and broad in flavour, but a little too big and toffee’d to be elegant, and not quite enough fruity exuberance to be a crowd-pleaser. B(-)

Can Ràfols dels Caus Gran Caus Cava Brut Nature Gran Reserva 2005 (£15.95 Wine Therapy, Harvey Nichols, Whole Foods)
Extra ageing has given this plenty of yeasty, oatmeal-like complexity, but there’s still some fresh lemon character, along with aromas of almonds and yeast. Quite rich with a toffee’d edge, but still has precise, classy style and a touch of minerality. S(-)

Recaredo Cava Brut Nature Gran Reserva 2006 (£22.50 Caves de Pyrene)
Intriguing style that benefits from being opened an hour or two before serving. Has a smoky oak edge, touches of toffee and preserved lemons and a dry earthiness – think old-fashioned white Rioja with bubbles. Classy fare, far more interesting than similarly priced French sparkling wines… S(+)