Author: sharquillo

Dorado Carrasviñas

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Was given this blind by Fran, the sommelier at Alabaster, at the beginning of what turned into one of the all-time great lunches, and didn’t get anywhere near identifying it. To be fair, while I had read about “Dorados” from Rueda, until now hadn’t had my hands on one. (The nearest was probably For this is the verdejo and palomino answer to the solera aged wines of the South and it was very interesting indeed.

You can find a ficha here in Spanish and as you will see that it is an unfortified blend of palomino and verdejo (proportion not revealed but order of varietals suggests more verdejo) that have been separately fermented in inox before coupage. Then it is stored in 16L glass demijuanas for 18 months and subjected to the extremes of the Castilian summer – which leads to the oxidation – before being finished in oak barrels. (Although it all sounds like a single vintage process I couldn’t find a date on the label or bottle.)

The resulting wine is pretty interesting. As you can see it has a deep old straw color to it, which in my mental processes it had me heading manzanilla pasada or old fino. Then the nose had fruit – much more like a manzanilla pasada than fino, but even more fruit than that, very bright nose. On the palate it had quite an acidic start, which on top of all the fruit had the alarm bells ringing, and then that fruit, then a turn to sour fruit bitterness and a deepish groove of salinity. Quite a long, fiery and mouthwatering finish.

I might get pelters for this from the guys down in el marco but I really enjoyed it – tasty and complex, and a reminder of how much fun it is to taste wines blind. May have been a bit of the element of surprise involved but will have to see if I can get some to try against the real thing at my leisure. Nice one Fran!

Taberna Palo Cortado

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The answers you seek are in these pages: 13 pages with 212 wines by the glass or the bottle. And then the first one they gave me wasn’t on the list! In fact Paki told me she had just over 300 of what could in general be called “sherries”, not including the unfortified wines from the region, or the champagnes, red wines and the like from all over. There is no doubt that Taberna Palo Cortado (now at Espronceda 18, Madrid) is the finest selection of wines from Jerez, Sanlúcar, Chiclana, Trebujena, Pajarete, Montilla or Moriles anywhere in Madrid, and one of the best anywhere.

And then you add all the magnificent catas: in the last twelve months alone they have had Ramiro Ibañez, Jose Maria Quiros, Willy Perez, Primitivo Collantes, the Blanco Brothers and Paola Medina, before that there were memorable nights with Toro Albala and Lustau, and next week they have the guys from Forlong.

And on top of that today I had an absolutely belting lunch: intended just to have a bowl of (delicious) stewed lentils but was tempted into a cheeky half portion of calamares and a small serving of Paki’s fantastic callos and garbanzos, washed down with a small matter of, ahem, five glasses (which when you think about it is less than 2% of the list, so in the circumstances seems only reasonable).

Honestly we are not worthy of such an establishment – I certainly am not – we should get in there before they realize!

Vino & Compañia

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Have made it my goal this year to break out of my usual loop and discover new places and it is already paying dividends. Strictly speaking Vino & Compañía (Plaza del Olavide 5) isn’t a new place or even new to me, because I remember buying a few bottles here a while ago, but since then they have made a massive, quantum leap in their offering of wines from el marco, and it felt like a different reality this time.

The above pictures give you an idea – the shelves are stuffed to the rafters with almost everything you could wish for. Andrés, the owner, was kind enough to ask me what was missing – I came up with a few suggestions but it wasn’t easy and there were not many.

And that was before he explained that they were still trying to find an arrangement so they could have all the wines from the region on display. For instance, they have all three UBEs and all the Tres Miradas, but just didn’t have a big enough space for all the unfortified white wines from Andalucía (and who would have imagined that a couple of years ago?) and were working on a solution. Moreover, the reason space is limited in general is that the rest of the wide world of wine is amply represented – a really fantastic range of wines from every corner of Spain and key regions abroad (including Champagne).

It is a quality offering, and Andrés was telling me that a reason for the growing weight of the traditional wines of Andalucia was that they have seen an increase in demand and, in particular, a lot of interest in tastings to introduce wines of the region.

On that front these guys take tastings seriously – they have a dedicated space, have tastings for beginners every Friday and tastings with cheeses every Saturday and will set up a private tasting for groups of six or more. It is a fantastic effort with visible results – in the short while that I was in the shop on a rainy Friday afternoon they knew almost everyone who came in by name.

There’s no doubt about it, if you are a winelover in Madrid, and in particular a fan of the wines of Andalucia, this store should be on your radar – although they are busy making their own crop of winelovers just in case.

120 up

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120 up

The part of the wordpress app I love best is the map above showing the countries from which the blog has been accessed, and it is a thrill any time I see a flag I don’t recognize in the daily visits. Today, Laos joined the mighty commonwealth of undertheflor visiting nations and we welcome them with open arms.

And to all you countries that still appear as blanks above: come, friends!

Fino Camborio in Viavélez

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Dropped into Viavélez Friday night for dinner for the first time in a long time and kicked off what was a terrific dinner with a glass of this classic, high class fino. It is a fino that has up until now been underrated and little talked about, a circumstance which is likel to change since Camborio has recently been acquired by none other than Peter Sisseck of Pingus fame (but a considerably broader portfolio).

I for one think it is good news. To say that Mr Sisseck is a saviour in the style of Berlanga’s Mr Marshall (as some excited editorials and bloggers have) is maybe a bit overblown, and is certainly unfair on the pretty long list of existing saviours who have for years been working hard to bring the sector back into the winemaking mainstream in terms of quality, terroir and vintages. But it is undoubtedly good news for the image of the region: there is no doubt that Peter Sisseck brings a bit of international name recognition and star quality. It is also good news from the point of view of distribution, because his is the kind of operation that can take this wine overseas. It is also good news from the point of view of the message that it sends concerning winemaking: a guy made famous by a wine from a tiny plot of old vines in Ribera del Duero clearly sees value in a patch or two of albariza in Jerez.

I wish him well and I can tell you he has done a good bit of business picking up Camborio, certainly on this evidence. In fact maybe the biggest difficulty he has will be in improving on this offering of a great wine. The colour is a lively straw color, it has saline and straw nose with toasted almonds and a super elegant profile, starting and underpinned by sharp salinity, then intense savoury almond flavours, tailing off again to a long, spicey and mouth watering finish. Really class: maybe has lost an ounce of that explosive character it had when first released, but as good a fino as you will find anywhere with very few exceptions.

Never mind the label, feel the quality (and now might be a good time to buy).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Media Ración by Cuenllas

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Another day, another cracking lunch in one of Madrid’s many great restaurants with excellent lists of sherries (and other wines). This time, Media Ración, the offshoot which legendary Madrid bistro Cuenllas was kind enough to open near my office in spring last year and which has been one of my happy places ever since.

It really has everything that a sherry blogger looks for in a watering hole. First, they have a well-rounded and continually updated selection of sherries  including in particular quality offerings from Equipo Navazos (La Bota de Palo Cortado 72, La Bota de Manzanilla 55 and la Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 59 to name just three), classics like Inocente (which is surprisingly hard to find),  Gabriela Oro, Manzanilla la Goya, the superb amontillado and oloroso from Tradición and other wines from Maestro Sierra, Delgado Zuleta, Fernando de Castilla and other top producers. Moreover, that offering is just part of an excellent selection of wines in general, with some quality international references in particular. In summary, noone is going to die of thirst here.

Second, and almost as important, the food is great. My favourites would probably be the callos, the soldaditos de pavia, the tosta de anguila ahumada and the Comte cheeseburger, and above all, the bacalao ajoarriero that I discovered this week (the best I have ever tried) but they also have an outstanding selection of charcuterie, conservas and cheeses, nutty, tangy bread from Panic. Great stuff from the point of view of a sherry fan:  it is almost as if someone were deliberately stacking up the pairing options. There is even a daily “bar-menu” for those days when you can’t be bothered to choose for yourself.

Third, and although it doesn’t generally feature very high on my list, the decor is also outstanding. It has a really smart, sheeshy bistro feel to it, making it one of those sherry temples that you can even take clients and family to if the need arises. And no concession made to comfort either: the bar is extremely comfortable with top quality stools and great sight lines.

And on top of all that, and probably most important of all, the service, from a young and charming crew, is just superbly friendly. Maybe I need more looking after than most but they certainly look after me. They even laugh at my jokes!

Really top drawer and highly recommended.

 

 

El Fino Perdido

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This is a class fino and the fact that it was the first wine I was offered, before seeing the wine-list, in Bache the other day sent a very positive message.

Eight years under flor and only minimally filtered, it is a lovely dark gold color and for me it has a nose that is old apples packed in straw. On the palate it is sharp at first and then salty, bready baked apples, a slightly darker tang and a fresh finish.

Refreshing, an elegant profile and attractive aromas and flavours: what’s not to like?

 

Bache

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And so the post-Territorio Era-era begins and although the holidays may be over life must go on, which for this blogger includes finding a decent spot to refresh and replenish of a lunchtime. One that had been on my list for a while was Bache, and so I tooled along this week for what turned out to be a bit of an eye-opener.

You have to say that the list of sherries by the glass is absolutely magnificent. The highlight was a wine I am quite partial to which, unbelievably, was available by the glass (there is a clue in the picture), but I also counted 10 finos – from Jerez, El Puerto, and even Montilla Moriles – 6 manzanillas (including manzanillas finas, pasadas, and in between), 9 amontillados, 9 olorosos, 7 palo cortados, 2 creams, and 9 unfortified wines from the region. 52 wines in total, and a brilliant selection of 52 too: every style a sherry-lovers heart could desire, all top quality, and accompanied by some excellent little descriptions for the less experienced enthusiast. Absolutely outstanding. (The wine list had a load of other stuff from other regions and countries I think but to be honest I didn’t get past those first 20 pages.)

There is also good news for fans of the solid matter, in the form of a fun little menu fusing Andalucia and the far East. I was drawn to the ventresca of tuna like a moth to a flame, which was maybe pushing it in addition to the top class eggs with potatoes and camarones (and the little bao sandwiches, but who is counting). Fun stuff although to be honest the best of the three were the eggs, which arguably hadn’t been fused with anything (maybe after 15 years I am turning castizo).

A quality spot and an unpardonable omission from my list to date – well worth a visit and I will certainly be going back.

La Bota de Cream 79 – “Bota NO”

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This was another of some magnificent wines brought by Juancho Asenjo at Territorio Era in its last days for an impromptu but very enjoyable lunch.

In my experience when it comes to cellar dinosaurs I tend to prefer the sweeter wines – the sweetness can take the edge of the extreme bitterness of concentration-, and equally when it comes to sweeter wines I prefer them to have a little bit of devil in them -for the opposite but identical reason. This one certainly has that kind of balance.

It is a very very very old cream sourced from Valdespino and although the guys at Equipo Navazos haven’t published a ficha for this one yet it is a new saca from the botas that also provided Bota 19 and Bota 38.

It has a very attractive red of chestnut color and is just this side of crystal clear, it has a nose of sweet hazelnut, with hints of noble woods and spiced, and then on the palate it has a racy, acidic, burnt caramel and almost bitter spine underneath surprisingly light, fluffy raisin sweetness, ending in a touch of salinity to give it a fresh finish. I am conscious hat might sound a bit of a mashup, but of the creams I have had this would probably be one of the most integrated – nothing bolted on here.

I feel it is a wine that would have repaid some serious study if I had the time – I hope I get another chance with more time to spare.

 

Alabaster

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I enjoy blogging and I enjoy eating but as a “gastro” blogger I ought to be taken out to the shed and put out of my misery. Really, I am so shambolic at times it is almost artistic. Today I had an absolutely wonderful lunch in Alabaster, including a cabracho (red scorpionfish) that almost had me crying big salty tears all over the plate. But I utterly failed to take its picture until what could be termed as “too late”. You can see the photo above.

Luckily the heartbreak was assuaged by a jurel (horse mackerel) that was equally emotional, and if it hadn’t been for those two dishes I would be telling you all about the roasted leek with smoked eel. On a blog where superlatives abound today’s lunch was superlatively superlative, a succession of dishes each of which would have more than justified the trip.

And the wines were possibly even more superlative than that. I will have to come back to them in detail because, once again, Fran (who has form for this kind of thing) picked out some absolutely great pairings including one wine – a dorado from Rueda – that I had never tried but always wanted to, two very fine and very hard to get wines from el marco and a red that was just perfect with the mackerel.

You add to all of that the way these guys look after you it really makes for a special lunch – one of the very best I have had in a very long time (and I have had a few). Many congratulations to the chef for the outstanding, superlative superlative dishes, to Fran for some dazzling wines and pairings and to Oscar and Ricardo for the great care they took of me. I will be back to try and get a picture of a cabracho!