Author: sharquillo

Gobernador with Callos in La Chula

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Again, my blogging skills let me down – you will just have to imagine there are some callos on that plate. (In fact for non madrileños it may be worth, given the total absence of photographic evidence, clarifying that here we are talking Madrid’s typical offal stew: chunks of a cow’s stomach, cheek and feet accompanied by chorizo sausage and morcilla blood pudding, cooked very slowly with paprika, tomato, spices and garlic. The fat and gelatin of the tripe and bits and pieces combines with the other flavours to make one of the most hedonistic of stews, and the spice of the paprika lifts it onto another level.)

In any event, with the Gobernador oloroso they  were superb. The spicey heat of the callos and the acidic, alcohol heat of the wine seem perfect together, and the fine, dry flavours of the wine are a perfect foil to the fatty, sticky flavours of the tripe. In fact it is one of those magic pairings that seems to make both legs longer – the oloroso seems to bring out flavours of the callos and vice versa. Really great stuff which I recommend trying any time you can.

 

La Bota de Amontillado 49 A.R. 

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This is one of a series of Equipo Navazos wines – 47, 48, this one and the 51 – from ridiculously old, rare botas. They are all superstars – showstoppers, absolutely mind blowing. 

But they are also very hard work. In the past I have struggled with the 47 and the 48 and this was a similar experience – there is no doubt about its incredible complexity and power, but it is also extremely acidic and tough to drink. It is a finer, less astringent wine than the palo cortados, but I really question how drinkable it is.  

It was also unfortunate to be followed by the Toneles, which really is a bomb.

Valdespino Toneles

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The bottle of the night – probably of the year/decade – was the little bottle at the end on the right – the Valdespino Toneles moscatel.

It is an almost opaque, black brown in colour and coats the glass and the aromas are superb – Christmas pudding mix up with raisins, sweet spices, chocolate and rum, pine trees, menthol, even pipe tobacco. You can just suck in noseful after noseful.

But that is only a prelude to the main event. It is a wonderful buttery syrup in the mouth with all of the above flavours and then some. It is an amazing mouthful of intense flavour, and has immense length – minutes long – sweet raisin then on to a higher plane – with chocolate  (reminded me of the filling of those old chocolate eclair toffees from when we were kids) taking over.

Really a superb and unique wine. Probably the most amazing I have ever tasted.

La Guita 2009, 2011, 2014

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2014 on the left, 2009 on the right – just look at the colours. It is immediate on the nose, and on the palate too.

We started with the 2014 and it was light, fresh, dry, fruity, saline and refreshing – a lovely drop (15/20). Next stop was the 2009 and the oxidation was really interesting. The fruitiness had become nuttier – it had maybe lost a little of its freshness while gaining a bit of power (16/20). Last, the 2011, which unsurprisingly had gained some complexity while maintaining more of the fruit and lightness of the 2014 (16/20).

Not sure which is “better” but they really are different wines and it was an excellent experiment (made possible, it must be said, by the guys at Coalla Gourmet who somehow got their hands on the 2009 and 2011). My own favourite was the 2011 – maybe I will have to keep some en ramas after all.

Amontillado Fino “Fossi”

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This is a lovely, fruity amontillado fino that was a speculative purchase at Reserva y Cata.

An old slightly rusty gold colour, there is a lot of fruit and mosto, and also dried herbs – oregano even – on the nose. In the mouth it has a nice feel – not as fatty as a fino en rama but a soft feel. Nice flavours – caramelized fruit – and then really zingy at the back of the tongue.

Nice tipple – disappearing quickly!

Fernando de Castilla Antique Palo Cortado at Taberna Verdejo

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Another superb spot for sherry lovers (and everyone else, frankly). 

Just look at this for a selection of sherries.

 

And if that is too much choice do not worry – the marvellous Marian will recommend some exceptional sherries to go with the brilliant food.

With white asparagus, artichokes and fried piparra peppers I had some full bodied Arroyuelo fino en rama and then, with a fantastic sirloin, this Fernando de Castilla Palo Cortado (bottle is empty due to consumption)

  
You will not be surprised to learn that I utterly forgot to take pictures of the food but only because I was too busy eating it.

La Venencia

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Late for lunch but always time for a quick sherry in La Venencia.

This is an old school sherry bar in the heart of Madrid and one I cannot walk past (even from a couple of streets away). The name comes from the term for the process of extracting sherry from the barrel on a long glass shaped ladle, and all they serve is sherry – manzanilla, fino, amontillado, palo cortado and oloroso.  All the sherries are from the barrel and all (bar the manzanilla) supplied by the artists at Emilio Hidalgo. It is as cheap and chips, you can have some almonds, olives or more interesting tapas with your sherry and it was pleasingly full of punters this lunchtime.

It is a must visit – if you are in Madrid and don’t go here you probably don’t deserve to.

Emilio Hidalgo – El Tresillo

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Another absolutely remarkable wine from Emilio Hidalgo. This is an amontillado fino – several years under flor and then allowed to take a bit of rust from the air. The little brother, if you will, of the 1874 (passim)

It is super elegant, half oil on the tongue and fantastically balanced – super dry but with flavours that feel sweet. Not acidic, but resistant. I could drink this every night.

Palo Cortado Tradicion

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Wines like these make writing blogs fun I can tell you. This is another top drawer Palo Cortado – from Bodegas Tradicion, a crew who specialize in very old sherries like this one – a 30 year old palo cortado. 

This has a (burnt) citrus vibe on the nose, then a lot of (also burnt) caramel in the palate, an oily, buttery mouthfeel, a little bit of alcoholic heat and a little acidity. Really very good – real structure to it.  

La Bota de Palo Cortado 34

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This is the wine that first made me sit up and take serious notice of sherry and it is still among my favourite wines. Just the thing to lift one’s spirits after the first long day of what promises to be a long week.


The first time I tasted this I was just blown away by the number of aromas, flavours, and spice. In part I was caught by surprise but even now I find this wine has a depth and and variety to rival anything. In fact now when I come back to it I am equally impressed by the sense of lightness and balance, the lack of astringency. It really is a masterpiece.