Restaurants

Night of the Pitijopos – Part II

~ sharquillo ~ 1 Comment

At the time  I thought it would take me a good while to write this one up and so it has proved. In fact it has taken even longer than expected since the quality of Pitijopo #6 set me off on a multi-day spree of wines from the same Finca Matalian (as you may have noticed).

I have already reported on, for me, the stars of the show – the Pitijopos themselves and the Callejuela Manzanilla de Añada, and by this stage my own direct memories of the other wines of the cata (which would always have been blurred) have faded away somewhat. To be honest, rather than “tastings” it would probably be more accurate to call these occasions “drinkings”, but then again I never claimed to be any good at this.

Nevertheless, there were some little beauties there. On the sherry side, there was :

  • a bottle of Alba Sobre Tabla – again from 2013 but this time Lot II, which showed a nice cidery nose, champagne like yeasty notes and balanced acidity but to be quite honest struggled to live up to its billing (and the unenviable task of following the Pitijopos);
  • (two bottles of) an excellent Sacristia AB Manzanilla en Rama – this time the first saca of 2015 – which can be irregular but this was still potent and full of life (alhough dusty next to the “Añada”);
  • an even better bottle of the Maruja manzanilla pasada which I just think is superb – jammy, saline, herbal – a beautiful wine;
  • a really interesting old bottle of “Jerez Oro” by Parra Guerrero , which seemed to be a fino or at most a fino amontillado that had had a long time in the bottle -had mellowed into a fluffy, slightly dusty nutty nougat; and, last of all
  • a bottle of Piñero Cream, about which unsurprisingly I can remember almost nothing at all!

As you can also see from the picture above, the sherries didn’t have it their own way either. There was a fantastic old Vinho Verde – pure honey and cream in a bottle -, a spectacular old 1964 white Rioja, two excellent champagnes, of which one was a fascinating 100% petit meunier rosado, a terrific Rasteau syrah/grenache and a lovely, elegant Real de Asua.

And all of this with the absolutely top drawer cooking of the Chula de Chamberi (all of the above notwithstanding the foie with nisperos and apricot toast was memorable (and repeated)) as we took over the big table in the corner in a fashion that could best be described as a well mannered riot. A really excellent night all round and one I am really looking forward to repeating once Volume II is available.

Guerra in Surtopia

~ sharquillo ~ 8 Comments

Brilliant night last night at one of my favourite places in Madrid – Surtopia. As I trailed a little while ago, it was the food of Jose Calleja and the wines of Armando Guerra (of Taberna der Guerrita fame). Two great lads from Cadiz it always promised to be a fun event, and filled a room with sherry fans of every colour and stripe (from sherry women to Parker’s man in Madrid).

It kicked off with this “bellini” of cantaloupe melon and “Beta”- a sparkling palomino and (10%) chardonnay by Barbadillo. Not a lot you can say about a wine when it is mixed with cantaloupe but it did the job. (To be honest, though, the end result was not that different from an ancestral method mosto that I opened a while ago.)  An interesting start alright.

As you can see below, the dance card did not list the wines – we tasted them blind instead.

First up was a tasty “bloody sherry” (fino, not vodka) with a brochette of marinated sardines with this, mystery wine # 1.

At the time (and here my tweetstream is my witness) I had as “no acid, sapid, long and clingy, fruity lees” and in my scribbled notes I had also written “pineapple, herbs, palomino?”

Well, my guess was an unfortified palomino and I was on the money – it was Tosca Cerrada, by Mario Rovira. Had spent 12 months in an old sherry barrel (and is named after the specific type of albariza soil of the vineyard).

Next, and although this is not a food blog, these croquetas -corvina in amontillado- were awesome, and deserve some serious attention.

They came with this, Mystery wine #2, which I tweeted as “butter, cheese rinds, sherrified but not sherry, grapefruity”.


Now when I read that back I would say immediately Jura (I even tasted Comte cheese and had the note “jura?” scribbler in my notes) but at the time I was so convinced it would be from around Cadiz I would have been prepared to swear it was  Encrucijado. Not so my colleague and table mate David, he nailed it: Macle 2009.  Lesson here: taste the wine, not the hype or expectation.
We finished off the Jura with an intense boletus, calamar and truffle stew. Another brilliant dish and an excellent match.

Then, with a meaty, rich pig trotter roll we had mystery wine #3 – which I tweeted as being “young, unshaven, oakshy, shiraz, fruit, maceration”.

My guess was a superyoung, unoaked shiraz, but here I made the  opposite mistake: I was right that it had never touched a barrel but this one was Cadiz through and through. It was a tintilla de rota, a classic red varietal that is making a comeback.

Again, should have listened to my table mates – Guille the boffin picked it perfectly. To be fair, it was nothing like the tintillas I have had before: normally a big meaty tablewine or even a sweet dessert effort.

That just left mystery wine #4 which was, in few characters “barrel juice – coffee, cedar, acid, bitterness”.

The concentration was way over the top – it reminded me of the bottom of the barrel Garnacha I had a while ago. I had it down as something super old – I reckoned an ancient moscatel in fact. In the event I only got it halfway right – it was a Quina, released by Barbadillo from barrels “found” in the bodega that had not been refreshed in over 30 years. To be fair, I have never knowingly had Quina before (or heard of this).

All in all, another brilliant meal in Surtopia, an eye opening experience wine wise and another lesson in blind tasting. If a fella had a complaint at all it would be: wot no sherry? (Fortunately I have a couple of bottles chez moi.)

Barcelona Wine Bar

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A friend mailed me to bring to my attention this list of wines by the glass, including no fewer than ten sherries, at Barcelona Wine Bar in West Hartford. The list has a bit of everything – fino, manzanilla, amontillado, palo cortado and oloroso, from palomino and px, Jerez, Sanlucar and Montilla Moriles. If you were over critical you might point out that the Maestro Sierra is for some reason attributed to Alvear.

I am also glad to report in fact that it is just one of several locations (12 in total, in Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts and DC). Get down to your local neighbourhood Barcelona wine bar!

What’s cooking around Cadiz 

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Had a great lunch in Surtopia today – the new menu looks really excellent. More importantly, I found out about a great event being organized in November – Lo que se cuece por Cadiz (in English “what’s cooking around Cadiz” (and as I am sure you know Jerez and Sanlucar are in the province of Cadiz)).

The event promises to pair the (fantastic) cooking of Surtopia’s Jose Calleja with wines provided by Armando Guerra, of legendary Sanlucar tavern Der Guerrita. It should be absolutely cracking.

You have two chances – November 18 or November 19 at 20:30 each night – and it is an absolute steal at only €50 per head. I for one will be there – book early to avoid disappointment!

Askua Barra 

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Strictly speaking you wouldn’t class Askua Barra as a venue for sherry drinkers as such: only two sherries on the card, a Lustau manzanilla and the Tradicion Fino (saca de mayo 2015). 

Having said that, the Tradicion is a beauty and the combination with this excellent, meat intense steak tartare (and with the bone marrow that followed) was a joy. 

Moreover, since it is around the corner from La Venencia there is more than one way to skin the cat. 

Punto MX

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I have been to Punto MX, Madrid’s stellar and Michelin starred temple to Mexican cuisine, several times but never asked for the wine list. They have a famous line up of mezcals and tequilas that are frankly excellent.

Given my new responsibilities, however, I thought I would have a peek today and, low and behold, a good, if small, selection of sherries. Nice range of basic and high end finos and manzanillas and nice, well priced wines. Being critical, I am surprised, there is no room on here for amontillado, oloroso or PX. I love the acidity and structure of oloroso, in particular, with spicey food, and I could definitely see a PX doing a job against those spices too.

Have to say the serv ice was fantastic. I was in fact having lunch with a client so I tried to hold myself in a little, but the sommelier scented my interest and a glass of La Bota de Fino 35 – Macharnudo Alto appeared as if by magic. Will have to write about that separately – delicious.

Homecoming Part III

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This time, to my second home and feeding station of choice: La Chula de Chamberi. And what better way to start a new academic year than with veal sweetbread and El Tresillo Amontillado Fino (a lightly chilled, freshly opened bottle no less).

It is a great combination – the sweetbread is intensely salty, savoury and buttery and the Tresillo is all of that and another notch above with spicey, smokey zing and mellow burnt fruit.

It really is good – if I didn’t have so much work this glass could easily turn into a bottle (and bring me the rest of the cow while we are at it).

Alabaster Bar – the Sherry list

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Here is that sherry list I mentioned in a post a while ago. As you will see, has a lot of bases covered at the fino/manzanilla end although would maybe be good to see some amontillado, oloroso, and palo cortado choices. Given that it is primarily a seafood establishment one can perhaps understand …. 

More to come in relation to this visit!

Alabaster (bar)

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We reach a new low point in terms of blogging skills – I was about to write about the range of sherries on offer by the glass at Alabaster and I realized that I took no pictures whatever of the list of sherries, or even of the establishment. To my further chagrin, the sherries do not appear anywhere on the (excellent) wine list that appears on the web.

From memory, I recall seeing La Jaca (manzanilla), Micaela (manzanilla), Xixarito Manzanilla Pasada, La Ina, Tio Pepe en rama (2015), La Bota de Manzanilla (Equipo Navazos), and La Panesa and the prices from €3 a glass to €7, I think, for La Panesa. I think there may have been a px too. I will try and get a picture because it really is a well chosen sherry list – and an excellent by glasses offering in the bar, with two cavas, two champagnes, no fewer than 7 vermouths and probably 10 white and 10 red wines.

No doubt about it, Alabaster is sherry-fan friendly.

Taberna Palo Cortado

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I have finally made it to Palo Cortado, Madrid’s latest sherry destination.

It is an old school tavern in one of the quiet streets a stone’s throw from the palace and opera-house. The menu is full of Andalucian classics and standards – we had an excellent salad of partridge of escabeche in particular.

But the main attraction for sherry fans is the wine list – I didn’t count them (or take a picture, I really am a shocking blogger) but I reckon there must have been 60-odd sherries available, examples of every area and style and excellent prices (even for the blockbusters). Even better is the person behind that wine list, Paqui, one of the Sherry Women and a much loved member of the Madrid wine scene. Because when you have a list as long as this one you really need some expert advice.

In my case, I opted to go a vertical of manzanillas that I don’t know well from Bodegas Argueso.

First up was this manzanilla – Las Medallas – with five years under flor. It had aromas of straw and a big, meaty body to it. Really broad and robust for a manzanilla – amazingly meaty and chewy, like a very doughy loaf of bread, with more toasted bread than almond but a lot of umami. I really liked it (15/20).

Second was this, the San Leon, a more typical manzanilla – again with five years under flor. Also hay bales and herbal tea on the nose, much finer, more elegant but not quite as meaty as the Medallas. Bit quiet on the finish. (15/20)

Last but not least, comes the San Leon, Reserva de la Famila. This has had seven and a half years under flor and is recognizeably more refined – maybe lacking a little less scent compared to the junior version but a more elegant, powerful and compact wine. (16/20)

Three excellent glasses of wine – for a combined total of €8.70. There is no doubt that Palo Cortado is an essential visit for any sherry fan (and an excellent alternative even for laymen).