Month: Mar 2017

The temples of Jerez in Madrid

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Felt I had to share this post by Paz Ivison with a list of drinking holes of all shapes and sizes in Madrid where you can feed your sherry addiction. Was lucky enough to meet Paz recently (in fact two ladies called Paz – the first of which was a bit bemused when I told her I was a big fan and had read all her posts about Jerez) and she is not only a proper journalist but also a good egg and maybe even a good laugh.

Being hyper critical there are a few places on here that for my money would need to work a bit harder to get on my own list, but the key point – how easy it is to get hold of the true, the blushful hypocrene – is the right one. Madrid is where it is happening in sherry terms, no doubt about it.

CGWF17: Part 8 – the Afterparty (Taberna Chef del Mar)

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Final post from the winefest and I finally get a chance to try Angel Léon’s stuff at the Taberna del Chef del Mar. And it is absolutely top drawer stuff too. The garbanzos con puntillitas (I recommend the puntillitas), the solomillo of atun, the caneloni, the salazones, brilliant from start to finish, and all washed down with what was left from the day’s festivities.

 

 

 

CGWF17: Part 7 – The winemakers

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Some final great memories from the Cuatrogatos Wine Fest in Puerto de Santa Maria. Hard to believe that it is already a couple of weeks ago (a fine testament to the velocity with which I write up my posts). It was billed as wine and laughter and vice versa and delivered on both promises.

For a start, some absolutely cracking wines you can drink by the gallon from makers like:

  • Jose Crusat (Entre os Ríos) and his fantastic range of wild and woolly whites including the leesy and buzzy Altares de Postmarcos, the super sharp Vulpes Vulpes, his two wild albariños Komokabras Yellow and Green, an even wilder one with time in a tinaja and a funky ancestral called “Bubbles from Rivendell” (which I missed out on on the day);
  • German R. Blanco and his range of reds from across the North, including juicy fresh Quinta Milú and La Cometa, increasingly refined mencias from Altos de San Esteban the fascinating range of parcel specific wines from Casa Aurora, and his new Rioja, La Bicicleta Voladora (which I again missed out on on the day – you snooze, you looze);
  • Javier Castro and Sonia López (Bodega Ziríes) and their garnachas from Toledo – four wines that were in turns mineral, fresh, aromatic, concentrated and expressive;
  • Beatriz Herranz, the “Verdejusticiera” (Verdejo law maker) from Barco del Corneta with what are probably the best wines being made in Rueda, mineral and rich, serious stuff, and also a really interesting palomino (Bruto);
  • Cristina Carrillo (Bodega Finca Fuentegalana), whose stand seemed to be mobbed every time I stepped near it (to the point where I could only try one wine at a time) had a really interesting stuff range of wines from albillo to shiraz; and
  • many other cracking bodegas (I would write them all up if I was a half decent blogger/had time), including Xabier Sanz and his fantastic feathered friends from Navarra (Viña Zorzal), Eulogio Pomares and Rebeca Montero, Miguel Montoto and Inma Pazos (Vinos de Miguel: Coto de Gomariz, Ailalá y Vinos de Encostas); Xurxo Alba (Albamar); Charlotte Allen (Almaroja); Verónica Ortega (Verónica Ortega); Cuatro Ojos Wines, Clos Lentiscus, Casa Castillo – the list could go on and on.

There was plenty of laughter too. Shouldn’t really have been a surprise given that we were all there thanks to the genial Federico but in addition to it was genuinely a fun place to spend the day.

And for me it was a fascinating and inspiring day. When you think about it wine making is miraculous – and I refer to all winemaking, not just the water into wine at wedding stuff – and to me there is something not quite canny about winemakers – people that can look at a vine and consider how to prune it, how many leaves and bunches it can support, when to harvest the fruit etc,  let alone all the decisions and judgments needed thereafter in terms of cepage, batonnage, barrel age, and other words ending in age. It requires a lot of knowledge, skill and, frankly, hard work and I find it extraordinarily inspiring to chat to really good winemakers and let the technical knowledge wave over me. When they are as friendly and generous as this bunch were it makes for a really uplifting and educational experience.

Encrucijado 2014 

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Another taste of this – currently available by the glass at Angelita – and it seems to be improving by the day. I enjoyed it the first time I was able to try it a couple of months ago, but really enjoyed it in Palo Cortado at last week’s tasting and am loving this too. Seems a sharper, more defined entry and then that elegant, butterscotch structure. 

Really worth trying if you get the chance so get down to Angelita! (On the other hand, looks like it is getting better in the bottle so mine is staying buried in the minibar.) 

Zuleta Amontillado Viejo 

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Hunting around in my little minibar last night for something nice to sup and happened upon this old classic. The second of two bottles I picked up from the Cuatrogatos wine club a year or so ago and probably the last of its kind to be seen around here.

It is a lovely tipple. A great example of a Sanlucar amontillado – elegant and sharp – but relatively fruitful too. As you can see, it is as clear as a bell and a lovely red-brown amber. On the nose it has seasalt and burnt hazelnut caramel, nice inviting sweetness to the nose. On the palate it has a nice clarity of flavour and shape. A lovely spine of salinity through it, starts razor sharp and finishes long with the mouth watering, and a mellow sweet-sour caramel flavour with waspish acidity at the end. 

Am I glad I had a second bottle of this. Lovely drop: enjoyable but serious too. 

Territorio ERA

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It is only five months ago in October last year that I dropped into Territorio Era for the first time and wrote this quick post. Back then I thought it was awesome but even in the short time since then it has become clear that awesome doesn’t cover it.

The bare facts are remarkable enough: 102 wines by the glass, 72 of them generosos, top class (even show) cooking and friendly/cheeky service in a space smaller than some of those bizarre show apartments in Ikea and in a location even more bizarre. To say this is a diamond in the rough is to understate the situation considerably (although the market is gentrifying rapidly).

But the bare facts aren’t even half of it, because we are not talking about any wines here. The half dozen folk that follow this blog will have seen the name Territorio Era in a hundred posts or more, and next to some stuff that you would struggle to find in restaurants of far greater fame. Notable names would include Fino La Barajuela (by the glass!), la Panesa, Encrucijado, Precede, Las Machuqueras, Socaire, and Monopole, but for me the greatest thing is the variety. You can rock up and try stuff you might never have thought about – jura, arbois, coteaux du layon, madeira, macvin, you name it – and if you fancy a champagne by the glass or a bottle of a small grower producer you are also in luck: David, the jefe de sala and executive sommelier, has a terrific range of champagnes.

Neither are we talking about just any food, because this is absolutely top quality. The huevos rotos con atun, las papas rellenas, los boquerones, el salpicon de gambas, el atun, el pargo con salmoretto, el cordero a la pekinesa, los callos a la tailandesa … the list could go on and on. All of them are prepared from top quality ingredients with fantastic imagination and considerable skill by Diego (pictured above). Just this week I had the pargo twice and the second time noticed an additional smokey tang: they had used sarmiento (wood from the vine), which burns very fiercely and creates a pungent smokey taste.

And as if all that were not enough these guys are the absolute salt of the earth. In the five months I have known them they have always been willing to help out, whether with finding a hard to get wine, arranging a special menu or hosting a cata or dinner. On one unforgettable occasion they opened the entire market for dinner on a Sunday night. They are great lads.

So get down to Territorio Era while you still can. I will see you at the bar.

Amontillado El Tresillo 1874

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What an absolute gem of an amontillado, ladies and gentlemen. Not had a glass of this – for far too long – 2015 if this blog is to be believed. So a happy reunion when I was given this last night by David Robledo at Santceloni, paired wonderfully with a rodaballo confitado in jus de champignon. In fact it showed its class in general – concentration of flavour but elegant, dry and fine.

It was a night of fantastic pairings, and this followed a a 20 year old malvasia madeira wine from Henriques & Henriques. That comparison was itself fascinating – and may have added to the impression of dry elegance in the amontillado, but I also found the amontillado more aromatic, and expressive in aromas of caramel, sawdust and citrus, even a suggestion of brandy.

Fantastic stuff – no way will it be another year before the next glass.

 

 

Fino Capataz Solera de la Casa 

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At lunch in Territorio Era I had just enjoyed a glass of the Tradición Fino and thought it would be a shame not to compare it to this big boned fino from Montilla Moriles. Two 10-12 year old finos from high quality bodegas, the big difference being the grape involved – here we have pedro ximenez compared to the palomino.

You have to say it is a fantastic wine – real intense roast almond aromas and flavour, and volume but elegance too, with a nice zingy start and a long mouthwatering finish. Doesn’t have the bitter notes of the Tradición fino (although this is a year younger in the bottle) and in fact has a nice little caramel effect as the nuts give way to the minerals that makes the contrast even greater.

One of the outstanding finos. .

Fino Tradicion, Noviembre 2015

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I have a general sense that these finos from Tradicion are getting steadily better (although at a majestic tasting at Reserva y Cata last year it became clear that the story is a little more nuanced). I also think they benefit from a little bit of time in the bottle.

Whatever the case, this one – which I should reveal was bought for me at the bar of Territorio Era – really hit the spot. A yeasty, dry unroasted-nut fino with nice elegant shape, some bitter almond notes and a fresh finish.

Really excellent stuff.

Ramiro Ibañez and the History of Palo Cortados in Taberna Palo Cortado

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Fantastic tasting/masterclass by the man tonight at Taberna Palo Cortado, lifted by an excellent Encrucijado 2014 and an absolutely stratospheric Barajuela oloroso (tonight posing as a palo cortado). 

This fella drops knowledge from a surprising height, and let’s be honest this subject is crying out for a bit more knowledge and a bit less blarney. Above all for me the presentation made sense of and brought together a few strands I had picked up along the way. 

I hope I can remember some of it tomorrow.