Pairings

The Goyas 

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End of week treat at Taberna Verdejo. 

This place seems to be the watering hole of choice for winemakers passing through Madrid – don’t think I have ever been here without meeting someone or other and today was no different. Jose Mas, of Mas Asturias, up in Bierzo. Fortunately I have some of his wine, but it was not sherry so we move on.

On to the “La Goya” – a special edition manzanilla which I find extremely elegant. Pale in colour and very floral in the nose – really expresses the chamomile it is named for – the salinity  is integrated and it has all the vegetable, yeasty bread flavour you would expect. Hits the spot and sets me up for lunch.

Then, with some Navajas, the Goya XL – it calls itself a manzanilla reposada and it has been brewing up for gone 10 years. As often happens, it is darker in colour but slightly quieter on the nose – same aromas, maybe a bit more salt and iodine but definitely sweet herbal tea. On the palate it is definitely more intense – plenty of yeasty power to balance the salinity. And it goes on, and on, and on, keeping its shape pretty well.

And on we go, to the mackerel escabeche, with the Monteagudo Amontillado – also from Delgado Zuleta. To be honest, I have messed up this pairing – the mackerel is delicious, the monty too,  but they are at odds. One (zee fishh) is vinegary and sweet, the other mellow and dry. My bad.

Next up is a salad of sweetbreads and carabinieros and just take a look at this.  

Again, though, the pairing is not great by me – the sweetbreads would be pigs in muck with the monty, but the salad calls out for acid and freshness. (For this dish I would probably go champagne – and it deserves it.)
And now my esteemed colleague from Bierzo has started plying me with his wares so wish me luck. 

 

Manzanilla 11540

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On a visit to Surtopia and despite their having no fewer than 19 manzanillas y finos por copa, the star of the show is this, the 11540 – a special bottling for the house. It is a very smooth, well integrated manzanilla – more fruit than hay bales, very pleasant rich mouthfeel and very nicely integrated salinity. Was absolutely cracking with this tortillita de camarones. 

 

Monteagudo Amontillado at Taberna Verdejo

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A lovely mellow amontillado Monteagudo (Delgado Zulueta) seen here with the remnants of white asparagus and smokey mayonaise with which it matched beautifully.

In fact this was only the second of three sherries of a great lunch in one of Madrid’s top sherry venues: Taberna Verdejo.

We started with a Sanchez Romate Fino Perdido and fried piparras, then this amontillado/asparagus combo, then a Gobernador Oloroso with sweetbreads with spring onions and a stew of callos, pata y morro to finish.

Lovely wines, first class food and great pairings if I say so myself. You just can’t beat an old fino with green peppers and asparagus, the amontillado was caramel mellow and could cope with both asparagus and sweetbread and the oloroso with the callos – just a sure fire winner. Curiously, these callos are less spicy and more meaty than the average and the oloroso accompanied them all the way – such a versatile wine.

As an added bonus I bumped into Antonio Barbadillo of Sacristia AB fame.

Goya XL and sushi

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A great pairing shout from some great friends. The briney, dry, savoury nature of the manzanilla en rama really pairs well with the soy sauce, spices, seafood and rice of the sushi. 

Here we have the Goya manzanilla en rama – a slightly older manzanilla with a bit of body to it (“reposada” rather than pasada). 

 

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.

 

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.

Oloroso Asuncion

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This is a 100% pedro ximenez oloroso from Montilla Moriles – specifically, from Alvear – one of the big, top class bodegas from up there. 

On the nose it is sweet and alcoholic, has a lot of the raisiny goodness you would expect from a PX and some baked (english) Christmas cake smell. There is indeed a bit of sweetness and a little bit of burn on the palate – it is a good 19% proof and probably has a touch of the sweet stuff, but the flavours are between caramel and raisins. 

A lovely drop – here I had it with some colmenillas (morels) in a foie and port sauce (I had already piled in – sorry about that) but maybe it was a little sweet (and maybe not acidic enough). This wine would probably be perfect on its own or with a good book.