Month: Jun 2016

UBE 2014

~ sharquillo ~ 6 Comments

Rumour has it that there were a hundred fewer of these produced (out of not many to start with) so if you see one jump on it. (You never know, this could be the “Pingus” moment for this little gem of a wine.) I didn’t get my hands on Ube 2013 (not just once but twice in quick succession) until January this year but I have been waiting for this one ever since, picked it up last week and managed to wait nearly a full week before opening it.

It is by Ramiro Ibañez of Cota 45 and the full name is “Ube de uberrina” (uberrina meaning “utmost”), it is an unfortified white wine labelled “Palomino Centenario” (100 year old palomino) and its label references the kind of albariza soil involved (albariza de antehojuelas), the vineyard (a small finca called Las Vegas), and the cepage (100% palomino but 73% palomino fino, 16% palomino jerezano and 11% palomino peluson). It was fermented and aged for fourteen months in a manzanilla bota – without flor but with a little air – in the tiny microwinery on Bajo de Guia in Sanlucar.

The picture above doesn’t really show the wine off well – in the flesh and with more light it is a lively, crystalline gold with some green tinges, a very appetising sight indeed. The nose was very interesting – at the start it was a little timid and had a little reduction – something I found with the 2013 too-, so I would definitely recommend opening this 30 minutes or so before drinking. Once it got going it had a very interesting nose of  baked apples (one of the guys called toffee apples), chamomile and, as it opened up, more powerful herbal aromas, even savoury and meaty.

On the palate it has a chalky texture and some salinity – not the full zing of a manzanilla but a tingle, mouthwatering and warming on the tongue. In flavour terms it has a quiet, elegant entry but then it is a little flavour bomb. If sapid is the antithesis of insipid then this was sapid squared – in part due to its salinity, but also to the baked apple and then herbal flavours – a mix of chamomile, rosemary and oregano. Not the longest finish in the world but a nice defined, ball of flavour – I must admit I didn’t remember the 2013 being as flavourful.

This really is good – probably the best unfortified palomino I have had yet. I just wish he would make more of it (and I am not referring just to the 100 missing bottles).

 

 

Sacha 

~ sharquillo ~ 2 Comments

This last few days has been a trying period, stuck in Madrid while sherrylovers of every description have been tasting, drinking, and partying down in Jerez during Vinoble. But on the whole I can’t complain too much since some friends and I were able to get a cheeky table for seven at Sacha this Monday evening (might sound easy enough but the place was chock full to the rafters).

Sacha is very much the Chef’s choice of restauranteur in Madrid and once you have been it is easy to see why. Simple but perfectly executed preparations of first class produce and a series of super flavours. The shellfish we had on Monday had some of the lads wishing they were otters, and the good stuff kept coming: asparagus, mushrooms, ray, steak tartare, tuetano, spicey lamb, a yogurt dessert – and although it would be very hard to leave any of them out if I had to pick one it would be the “lazy tortilla” with truffle. Absolutely first class.

The service was excellent in trying circumstances (we tend to bring the chaos with us – tables full of wine glasses etc) Sacha was on hand to explain the dishes to us and his sense of humour added to the fun considerably. He comes across as a chap who knows a few things but is able to focus on the important ones, and a really good bloke to have around.

Of course it also helped that we were able to wash it all down with some equally excellent bottles, and while I completely failed to take a picture or even a note of the famously concise and precise winelist, I can tell you that they had some very interesting bottles indeed: some of those little ones with numbers on the labels by Equipo Navazos, a magnum of “Zerej”, and when we asked what to pair with an asparugus, the lovely manzanilla en rama by Blanca Reyes.  Take my word for it, you can go here safe in the knowledge that nice bottles of sherry are available.