The Yin and Yang of Rioja

November 12, 2009 in Rioja | by | Leave a comment

I have recently tried two Rioja wines, both from 2006, Monte Real of Bodegas Riojanas and Vallobera by Javier San Pedro. They were both amazing, each in its own distinctive way. To use a Chinese metaphor, Monte Real was the Yang and Vallobera the Yin. And of course both wines come from the very same part of Rioja, following the Tao principle of complementarity of opossing forces.

Monte Real Crianza 2006 is one of the best buys in the region, a serious young wine full of tradition, light and capable of bringing you closer to heaven, very Yang like. Rioja Vallobera is femenine, misterious, seductive, down-to-earth wine, a Yin experience all the way. Two different friends have introduced me to each of these wines and I am looking forward to a single conversation with both of them, very Tao like, different wines but only movements and transformations of form.

Cool cellars, cool wines

October 23, 2009 in Guest Contributors, Rioja | by | Leave a comment

by Guest Editor Pablo Echenique

Every month of January I like to hop on my car and get away for a couple of days, by myself, to any place where nobody knows me and, ideally, where there is no network for cell phones, Blackberrys and “other irritating gadgets” (according to a brilliant sign I once read in a small and quiet London hotel, asking clients to turn off such gadgets).

Last January I had the chance of visiting a new and cool Spanish architecture landmark, the new Marqués de Riscal cellars in Elciego (Alava’s Rioja), designed by the eccentric Frank O. Gehry clearly following Bilbao Guggenheim Museum’s traces. I was not lucky enough to go for a swim in the “vinotherapie” spa (the place also includes a hotel), but I experienced a cool sensation when I first saw those impossible purplish titanium structures right in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by small hills and wine stocks.

This cellar is a good example of a new trend followed by some wine makers. Just like every city in Spain seems to be willing to have its flashing architecture symbol no matter its cost and final use, certain wine producers (and not just new labels such as Cepa 21 in Ribera del Duero) are spending fortunes in hiring superstars to design impressive buildings. Read the rest of this entry »

Blue wines

September 19, 2009 in Ribera del Duero, Toro | by | Leave a comment

This summer I have taught my two year son some of the most important words in Spanish. It has been a lot of fun and also a big moment for a proud father. One day, as I was repeating to him “vino tinto” and then “vino blanco”, Santiago added with his perfect logic “y vino azul!” (and blue wine). We all laughed but later I discovered that his little creative mind was offering me a new wondrous concept: “blue wine”, which of course meant the wine I love to drink in the summer, when I alternate time by the pool with time by the sea. So here is my short list of 2009 “blue wines”, with an invitation now that summer is gone to remember and comment which were your blue ones.

I drank at the beginning of summer Pago de Capellanes, a Ribera del Duero that I had neglected before. I found it smooth and intense like a Madrid summer sunset, when you wacht it from the hills that overlook El Pardo. Then in Majorca I tried Gago 2006, a strong wine from Toro that you can almost chew. It went very well not only with pork, but with the night smells of the village of Deia, bouganvilles and sea breeze. Last but not least, and also while in Majorca I had 12 volts, a new wine from the island. In spite of its electrifying name, 12 volts is full of serenity. It had a great blackberry touch that threw me back to my childhood, when we spend summer afternoons picking up these fruits in the small mountain next to of our summer house in Valldemosa, in order to make home-made blue jam.

Contino and the perfect bull

April 26, 2009 in Rioja | by | Leave a comment

This week I had the chance of spending time in Seville. Thanks to the hospitality of friends that are true aficionados and know everything about the fiesta, I watched a very good bullfight from the best seats in the ring, those of the Real Maestranza. Before, my friend had introduced me to the complexities of bullfighting today, in a memorable lunch where we drank Contino Reserva 1998, a Rioja I have already written about with passion before.

As I enjoyed the company and the wine, I was told that most bulls in Spain today, with some exceptions, are bred so they can endure a full corrida, running and dancing along. They are supossed to engage in the fight beyond the initial moments. The animals are expected to be somewhat predictable and fully participate in a ritual that experts compare to opera or ballet, a sort of dialogue that can be full of beauty. Some bullfitghters have oficio (technical expertise) others (yet only a few of them) have personality and class. But most of the matadors do not want bulls that create terror and awe and are thus difficult to understand. Well, the wine we drank had exactly the qualities of the perfect bull that most bullfighters demand today. It not only shows strength when you taste it, but it keeps on displaying its noble qualities until the end of the meal, so you can have a long conversation with it and with your friends. It’s then up to you to talk with more than oficio, the somewhat boring knowledge of facts and tricks.

Valdueza, the pleasure of anticipation

April 8, 2009 in Vinos de la Tierra de Extremadura | by | Leave a comment

Last month I found myself consciously delaying my decision to taste a new wine made by relatives. I knew it would be very good, but somehow I was not ready to open it. I was enjoying so much my future encounter with it that I wanted to extend the pleasure of anticipation. Perhaps this is the essence of happiness, being able to project ourselves into better moments and start living them before they arrive. A few days ago, however, I finally felt the call of duty and opened the new wine.

Marques de Valdueza comes from an ancient estate near Mérida, the Roman city in Extremadura, and confirms that these days you can find extraordinary wines anywhere in Spain. Valdueza 2006 is an original and powerful wine made with Caubernet Savignon and Shyraz grapes. This is a wine you need to decant at least an hour before you start drinking it, something really crucial to enjoy it. I have not tried yet the 2007 edition but I know Merlot grapes have been added and I have already heard wonderful things about it: more anticipated pleasure!

The Valdueza project started with the creation of an outstanding olive oil under this this glorious name. Marques de Valdueza olive oil became ultra famous very quickly -it even got the attention of the FT Magazine “How to Spend it”, that raved about it as if the oil was the best Bordeaux of the century.

In spite of its international success, the Valdueza olive oil and now the wine are symbols of permanent values. Behind them there is a story of love and dedication to the Spanish countryside of generations, continued now by Alonso Valdueza and his son Fadrique. Alonso is a legendary hunter, much like his father was. He leads the Spanish movement to save the “cañadas”, the medieval transhumance system of paths, along which livestock was permitted to travel and graze. These “cañadas” cross Spain and have been used for centuries to search for lusher lands. Well, drinking Valdueza is a bit like moving South, we nomads, in anticipation of greener pastures.

The day the birds begin to sing

February 10, 2009 in Rioja | by | Leave a comment

In England in the Xth century people considered February 11 to be “the day the birds began to sing”, an early sign of spring and new life. I had a similar experience of renewal when I tried a few days ago Valenciso Reserva 2004. I have already written in this blog about the fantastic Valenciso project in Ollauri, Rioja, but let me add that the wine they have just put on the market surpasses anything I have tried in the last years.

The epiphany went like this. We had gathered for dinner at home and we were discussing this 2009 “winter of discontent” (“Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York/ And all the clouds that low’r’d upon our house/ In the deep bosom of the ocean buried”).

Friendship and Valenciso did the trick. In the Shakespeare play, Richard, the future king, for a while does not protest his discontent but celebrates his fortunes. Just like him, we did not mourn over the present state of affairs and we enjoyed wine and conversation. The next morning, of course, the birds were singing.

Vega Sicilia’s “Tinto Valbuena”: Great expectations for the new year

January 12, 2009 in Guest Contributors, Ribera del Duero | by | Leave a comment

by Guest Contributor Pablo Echenique

At home, the ritual is repeated year after year when getting everything set for New Year’s eve celebration dinner. I like to accompany my father down to the cellar to choose the wine. Considering that my mother is a true gourmet when she finds the time and the occasion to cook, we must be very careful in our selection.

A professional optimist like myself always believes that “the best is yet to come”. This is why we chose Vega Sicilia’s “Tinto Valbuena” to start the feared year 9th of our century. In times of crisis the best is to grow strong and enjoy life.

Valbuena is the second label of the aforementioned legendary cellar (named after, Valbuena de Duero, Valladolid, home of Spain’s and, arguably the world’s best wines).

Everything has been written and said about the supreme quality of the wines produced at Vega Sicilia. Apparently, somebody asked once the British Prime Minister, Sir Winston S. Churchill which had been the best wine he had tasted in his life. “A superb Italian wine called Vega Sicilia”, he replied. The anecdote (“si non è vera è ben trovata”) perfectly illustrates a fact: the Italians sell their wines and other pleasures much better than we Spaniards do.

Valbuena is just a gift of God. The colour, the taste, the bottle, everything. Serving the wines of Vega Sicilia is like preparing the wine for Mass on Sundays! A liturgy of its own.

Well, the year has been emotionally intense. Such is life, nobody said it was easy… The important thing is that we had a great start. We hope that many Valbuenas will be on the way throughout this year. I like number 9. We shall never surrender, Sir Winston Churchill!

Merry crisis

January 7, 2009 in Uncategorized | by | Leave a comment

I spent last week in Istambul, the best city in the world to enjoy the winter light, take long walks and nourish the spirit. The downside is that I did not try out a new Spanish wine in our New Year’s celebration. Yet near one of the superb restaurants we visited we found a shop with a great sign that read “Merry crisis”. This of course got me thinking about my favorites Spanish wines around or under 10 euros.

The usual suspects are probably well known to you, La Estacada, Martue and Grego, all of them new creations from the South Castilla region, provocative and cheap.

I should add to this list three more wines, fist La Montesa, from Herencia Remondo, that never fails to surprise and please me, a wine full of life and promise like the Bosphorus in contrast to the dusty old city -Pamuk dixit. My second choice is Martinez Lacuesta crianza, a Rioja that has resurrected and that is light and delicious -choose your own Oriental comparison. Third, Semele, 2005, a Ribera del Duero that is sometimes hard to find and that I enjoyed like any Istambul insider sips his apple tea.

Thanksgiving in Ronda

November 29, 2008 in Sierras de Malaga | by | Leave a comment

Last thursday I participated in the festivities of the Real Maestranza, a wonderful institution that has just turned 437 years old. The Maestranza owns the famous Ronda bullring, plus some museums and a horse riding school, and has just set up a fantastic library and historical research center. Every year it awards prizes and scholarships for the best students in the area. This year the King, who is president of the all the five Maestranzas in Spain, was chairing the ceremony and everything went very well, including the great aperitif in a big tent inside the bullring. It was Thanksgiving day in the US and thanksgiving day in Ronda because the King had come to visit!

My monarchist fervour did not prevent me from checking out the wines served, all of them from the Ronda valley, all of them new – new things. Before jumping on the train to come back to Madrid I bought a bottle of Los Aguilares Pago el Espino 2005 (circa 18 euros), for close examination at home.

Today we tried in our weekly gathering at my parents and it was a big success. This is a beautiful red wine made near Ronda in a estate where traditionally thousands of pigs were raised at 700 meters of altitude. It comes from four different grapes (tempranillo, merlot, pinot noir and petit verdot) and it reminded me of summer breakfast in Majorca, thanks to its great black berry fruity flavour. It was great with homemade cheesecake and I recommend it for those of you who drink outside the box.

Pairing wine and food

November 13, 2008 in Guest Contributors | by | Leave a comment

by Guest Contributor Fernando Vigón

It would be hardly an exaggeration to say that it is sheer madness to try to set rules for food and wine pairing. But after an excellent dinner and the stillness of this Saturday night, let me have a go at it.

Unlike pairing wine and friends- the one I enjoy the most and perform the best- food and wine pairing is a highly subjective, controversial, time consuming and inexact process. But on the other hand, it is an exciting, fascinating, challenging task and like wines, is lively, unpredictable and rewarding.

Even though there’s considerable room for manoeuvre and expression of your own personality, let me state my set of rules when choosing wines to match a dinner:

By way of introduction “wine shouldn’t overpower food and neither should the other way around”. Decide which one is top and then act accordingly. Sophisticated wines, such as Calvario, Finca Allende, D.O. Rioja, goes hand in hand with unsophisticated but powerful dishes such as cocido madrileño or the outstanding pote aranes.

Conventional wisdom says that regional proximity and geographic location is a pass word for matching. Regional foods and wines, having developed together over time, should offer natural affinity for each other. e.g. fabada and sidra. Huge mistake, pair fabada ALWAYS with Grenache –not necessarily Priorat-. For instance, Baltasar Gracian Cepas Viejas, D.O. Calatayud, or Alto Moncayo, D.O. Campo de Borja, are terrific choices. What is more and still in Asturias, taste Cabrales cheese with a port, perhaps the luxurious Burmester Vintage 1997 or the humble Royal Oporto 1999 –only 30 €- a simple but delicious pairing. The English knew what they were doing.

It is beyond all doubt that “Red Wine with Red Meat, White Wine with White Meat” is a better rule that the old one about “red whine & meat” and “white one & fish”. Read the rest of this entry »

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