At the bodega of Marques de Murrieta Jill and I decided to purchase two bottles of the flagship wine Castillo Ygay 2007 vintage . . .
We now call ourselves seasoned travelers, having completed our third super wine tour with you, Colin.
Hugely impressive – the tasting table at Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta!
At the bodega of Marques de Murrieta Jill and I decided to purchase two bottles of the flagship wine Castillo Ygay 2007 vintage, quality wine for quality price.
You and others on the trip hoped we would open one of the bottles at dinner for tasting, but, we selfishly kept both for the Xmas holidays!
On Boxing Day we invited six friends for a late Xmas dinner and opened the wine for all to taste. We tried to use much of the advice we have gained from Colin during the tours and tastings.
The consensus from all was:
The wine felt medium bodied with quality fruit of the rich dark kind. Aromas of balsamic, vanilla and earthy. All softly on the palate with great finess and smoothness of the finish. Superb and recommended. Two bottles drunk quickly with happy friends.
We await your next trip and thought of you as we drank the fine wine.
Saludos
David and Jill
The conclusion from all was superb and possibly the best red Rioja we had all tasted and drunk.
. . . a new annual feature which allows me to go back over 2015 and pick out the highlights of my year in wine . . .
THE CORK TALK WINE YEAR 2015
Regular readers (thank you so much, you are really appreciated!) will know that I was dreading last week’s article. The Costa News Top Ten Wines of the Year is always a difficult one to write – there are only so many places available (10, actually!), but so many wines that should be similarly honoured.
Well, I’m also in a state of trepidation about this week’s article, a new annual feature which allows me to go back over 2015 and pick out the highlights of my year in wine. It is of course a year in which you have shared, albeit indirectly, and I wonder if any of the following were Cork Talk highlights for you too?
“January, cold, desolate,” – did you have to learn that poem at school too? Anyway, it was accurate when I arrived at Stansted the day before the Liberty Wines Annual Portfolio Tasting. The grass crunched as I walked to the hotel, whose approaches had been salted to keep the ice at bay, as well as possible litigation from injured guests!
In an effort to maintain a decent cash flow during the quiet months many sporting venues open their doors to all sorts of events these days and so I was delighted to visit The Oval Cricket Ground for the first time and, whilst I would have loved to have seen a game of top class cricket there on the hallowed, immaculately tailored, almost dazzlingly green square, it was the interior to which I was directed.
The Oval – Home of Cricket, but also the Liberty Portfolio Tasting 2015.
Put simply, this Liberty Wines tasting is excellent. Liberty is a major player in wine distribution in the UK, therefore there is an extensive range of wines to taste as their portfolio is so large. In truth they aren’t so strong on Spanish wines, but in fact I was there to taste international wines, and translate for my friend Mariano, Head Winemaker at Bodegas Castaño. We both learned about wine from a host of different countries and I learned so much from him too! My Cork Talk Year had a good start!
February (I can’t remember any more of the poem, but it certainly wouldn’t have been accurate for here in Spain!) saw me in Murica for a few days, judging the wines of DO Bullas as a co-opted member of the Consejo Regulador’s panel for their annual wine competition.
As a regular on the judges panel of DO Yecla’s annual wine competition I knew what to expect in terms of the wines and my fellow judges, several of whom I knew from other sessions. Sharing similar terrain and climate as well as, of course, the well loved grape variety, Monastrell, I was sure I was in for an excellent tasting. I was right – there are some fabulous wines coming out of DO Bullas right now. Look for Bodegas Monastrell, Lavia and Rosario, for a start – and then carry on researching!
March saw me on the road again – this time with a group, visiting Segovia and Toro, the latter, for what I have to describe as the best wine tour I’ve ever had. Readers may remember my waxing lyrical about the tasting, tour, lunch and tapas route that began in the early hours at Bodegas Fariña’s icy vineyards and ended, at about midnight, in the final tapas bar of the night, in the historical and bucolic town of Toro.
Our guide, Nicola, who is actually the Export Director of the company, had arranged her packed diary around our visit, putting off journeys to China, Korea, Japan et cetera to make sure that we had the full Fariña experience was really excellent. She even included a visit, just for us, to the underground hideaway cellar where Columbus tasted the wines before buying to stock his famous journey of discovery! Fantastic!
I’m not sure how many different forms of transport I used in April – several, for sure, as I was in Guildford, UK, first, for the annual International Wines and Spirit Competition, as well as Ciudad Real, for my first visit to the large Spanish Wine Fair, Fenavin.
The IWSC first – I love this competition! Having taken an introductory course and sat and passed an initiation exam, I was asked to sit on the Spanish Wine panel for the first time, about five years ago. Since then I’m delighted to say that I’ve become a regular, as well as being appointed the IWSC Agent for Spain.
The judging rooms are perfectly fit for purpose and full of eminent judges, several of whom are Masters of Wine, of whom there are fewer than 350 in the world! The standard of the judges is high, to say the least, so it’s an honour to be with them, and indeed flattering to often be deferred to about current Spanish wine trends, traditional grape varieties etc, during the judging.
This year saw a very large entry, 952 wines in fact, a 20% increase on the previous year, which itself was a 16% increase on the 2013 entry! There were many medals awarded, including 6 Gold Outstanding, the highest award possible, equalling the total of last year. I’ll be there in 2016 – and can’t wait!
Fenavin, was a new and exciting experience for me. Ciudad Real, as the name implies, used to be a centre for the Royal Family in centuries gone by. Though some of the ancient architecture survives, including the cathedral, it’s now a really modern, quite vibrant, small city – with an Ave connection, of which I took advantage, for another first!
Just out of town is the Feria Centre where all manner of trade fairs are held throughout the year – including the Fenavin Spanish Wine Fair, which celebrates Spanish wine, bringing together the press, the buyers and sellers and the winemakers. Thousands of wines are presented, tasted and hopefully bought, both nationally and internationally. The packed aisles are like the Tower of Babel in that the number of different languages being talked is mind-blowing!
In May, two days before my knee replacement operation (which wasn’t a highlight of my year!), we held the Bodegas Castaño Dinner, where Daniel Castaño and his family came to the Swiss Hotel, Moraira to co-present (with me) five of his top wines, which were relished when paired with a sumptuous five course dinner and the fabulous Dolce Divas duo (www.dolcedivas.net).
The Castaño Dinner at Swiss Hotel Moraira.
The concept of pairing wines with similar characteristics found in food and music was refreshingly new to Daniel who was really taken with the idea. So much so that he invited Dolce Divas back to do the whole thing again in the restaurant that his bodega, this time with a mostly Spanish full house of like-minded people! Another great success, and highlight for me!
And briefly: My visit to Champagne as a member of the Champagne Bureau UK’s press trip in celebration of Champagne’s elevation to World Heritage Site status, was amazing! Our five day visit to Rioja staying in the wonderfully original, modern Finca de Los Arandinos and having two fantastic visits, one to Marqués de Murrieta, the oldest Bodega in La Rioja; and the other to Bodegas Muga, whose lunch with their super wines, was legendary! The Cava Dinner in Moraira where I was once again asked by the President of the Consejo Regulador, DO Cava, to present different styles of Cava to accompany a four course dinner.
And finally the Telitec Tasting Tour with joint sponsors Blu Property Group, a novel idea of tastings held in venues along the Costa Blanca, the final two of which, at Nox, Javea; and Republic, Denia, were superb!
Denia’s excellent Restaurante Republic!A superb evening of fine wine & cava pairing with gourmet tapas at Javea’s Nox Restaurant!
I was interested to note that mention of the ‘P’ word brought about unsolicited boos, where many a true boo is booed in jest, to paraphrase the Bard . . .
IN DEFENCE OF THE ‘C’ WORD!
It would appear, from the response received last night at the fully subscribed Cava Dinner, Moraira, that cava is the preferred fizz here in Spain!
I was interested to note that mention of the ‘P’ word brought about unsolicited boos, where many a true boo is booed in jest, to paraphrase the Bard, whom, I’m certain would also have been a great fan of cava, had it been around in his day!
I’m sure that even those of a delicate nature who’ve led a sheltered life will already have realised that the eponymous ‘C’ word, is of course Cava; and the ‘P’ word (boo!) is Prosecco. Readers may remember an article or two referring to the tsunami of Prosecco which has, inexplicably as I see it, been threatening to drown the whole of the British Isles – sadly leading to a loss of market share for cava makers.
I say ‘inexplicable’, but in fact it’s quite simple. People generally, and of course consumers in the UK, like sparkling wine – it fizzes with celebration. Champagne, well it’s mostly too expensive, cava is a possibility, but when there is an alternative to both of these noble drinks, which is less expensive, you know what most will decide. Plus, as the vast majority of Prosecco sold in the UK is of the lesser quality as well as being on the sweet side of Brut, pandering to the taste buds of lots, apparently, the Italian alternative is going to sell.
Last night’s event, sponsored as a promotional activity by the Consejo Regulador of D.O Cava, showed that the vast majority of ex-pats (and not just British ex-pats) living in Spain show warming solidarity with those who craft cava. Cava rocks – and not just as a celebratory drink. This was the mantra of the evening – let me explain!
Unsurprisingly, a full house for the DO Cava Consejo Regulador sponsored Cava Dinner!
If there’s something to celebrate we immediately reach for the cava – an anniversary, a birthday, a wedding, a birth, exam success, moving house, you name it. Also, in my case, a funeral – when mine comes along I’d like it celebrated with lots of popping cava corks, please! And that’s quite right – we use cava to celebrate. However, there are different styles of cava, which retain the celebration element, whilst adding to the mix.
Judging by a straw poll taken last night, most of us buy Brut Cava for celebrations as well as for aperitifs – smoked salmon and Brut Cava is an oft used and enjoyed pairing. So the concept of matching cava with food is certainly not unknown. However, the good news to most last night was that the different styles of cava can also be matched with different courses, in fact to run concurrently throughout a whole 4-course dinner.
The Swiss Hotel, Moraira, having performed so well at the equivalent dinner last year, was the venue again and each savoury dish was matched with different types of cava, to almost unanimous acclaim. Who’d have thought that a young Brut Cava would pair delightfully with a gently curried amuse bouche soup, one of the Head Chef’s imaginative aperitivos? But it did.
With 12 months on ‘en rima’ (on its lees – the dead yeast, often referred to as sediment), this Brut Joven (young) cava has had three extra months to the minimum 9 months to broaden its taste and weight profile. The result is a cava that does what we expect from sparkling wine – and some!
Our next cava, a Brut again, was a rosado which has had 15 months en rima. The refreshing acidity is still present, and needed, to cut through the oily texture of the smoked salmon salad starter with which it was served. There is a very slight element of sweetness to this rosé cava, which worked well with the salad’s dressing. The Trepat, Monastrell and Garnacha varieties used to make this wine provided us with a red fruit nose and flavour.
Rosado Cava Brut always works well with salmon!
Up to a point, I always like to consider colours when matching wine with food – finding colours in the wine that match those of the food on the plate, as well as flavour and aroma characteristics, makes for a better marriage, in my opinion. The lightly marinated salmon was similar in colour the paler style of rosé – it worked!
Our third cava was, like the first, a blend of the three traditional white cava varieties – Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel.lo, though in different proportions. The 50% Macabeo is there to help re the longevity of the wine. A reserva has to have had a minimum of 15 months ‘en rima’ – this, like the two previous cavas has enjoyed more than the minimum – in fact 17 months.
The wine has depth and extra weight in the mouth, though the Parellada, ensures the elegance that we love in sparkling wine, and the Macabeo provides the crucial freshness. Served with a precisely cooked, slightly salted cod fillet I thought the match was excellent. The fruit delivery of the cava, not something we often notice in sparklers, unless trained to look for it, matched the saltiness of the fish and the tapenade with which it was served.
Diners were asked to hold the cava on their palates a little to ‘feel’ it and to let it develop in their mouths whilst it warms slightly – to the astonishment of several, this really allowed the cava to open out and give so much more.
Now, if I’ve been talking thus far about how these cavas have exceeded the minimum period ‘en rima’, as I have, our final cava of the night, did even more in this respect. The minimum amount of time that a Gran Reserva cava must spend on its lees is 36 months, three years! However the flagship Gran Reserva style of the Consejo Regulador DO Cava has had 46 months, that’s nearly four years silently waiting in the cellars, developing different nuances and extra body. And this is why it’s not audacious to match such a cava with meat!
And the meat chosen in this case? Well, perfectly cooked lamb, served with port poached pears, and for me, it really worked.
I like to think, and this is supported by comments made during the night, that the point was made – cava fits celebrations, but it also works wonderfully as a wine to be served with various different dishes, providing you choose the correct style. Several diners last night commented that they would now seek not just a Brut cava, but a Brut (or indeed a Brut Nature, as was the last cava) according to the dish with which it will be served – that is young cava, a Reserva or a Gran Reserva!
February 5th – Nox Restaurant at the end of Javea’s Arenal Beach: a fine wine/gourmet tapas pairing evening. Just 25€ – great value: 5 wines paired with 5 different top tapas. Some seats left – please contact me asap!
February 19th – Nox Restaurant Prestige Dinner with specially selected high end wines. A night to remember, for sure! Fully booked at the moment, but there may be a cancellation – a reserve list will be taken! 55€.
