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By Manos Angelakis, Debra C. Argen and Edward F. Nesta
Spanish Wine & Tapas
The Great Match – Spanish Wines and Tapas 04, presented by Wines from Spain, www.winesfromspain.com, was held on October 6, 2004 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street in New York, and featured a combined effort from the Spanish wine producers, Spanish cheese and olive oil producers, as well as some of New York’s finest restaurants showcasing their tapas creations for the event which benefited City Harvest.
Debra: While Edward and Manos were searching out new wines, I made my rounds of the tapas tables and sampled some of the cheeses and olive oils, as well as saffron and other Spanish products. Of the cheeses I tried, I especially liked the Cabrales, a rich blue cheese, the Alt Urgell-Cerdanya, a sweet and smooth cheese, and the Roncal, which is described as the soul of the Pyrenees. Tapas were provided by Gerry Hayden of Amuse, Andy Nusser of Casa Mono, Marc Murphy of Landmarc, Dan Silverman of Lever House, Richard Sandoval of Maya, Damon Gordon of Mix in New York, Brad Farmerie of PUBLIC, Pichet Ong of Spice Market, Franklin Becker of Trinity and Wylie Dufresne of wd-50. Some of the restaurants provided items you would normally see on a tapas menu, and some chefs put their own spin on the tapas they presented. A few of the tapas available: from Franklin Becker of Trinity, Truffled Sea Scallops with Lemon and Arbequinn Olive Oil served on a scallop shell which I really enjoyed, as well as a Grilled Shrimp with Shaved Fennel, Mint, Grapefruit and Chorizo Oil, Dan Silverman of Lever House presented Spicy Braised Baby Cuttlefish and Smoked Trout with Fresh Goat Cheese and Scallion on a Brioche, Gerry Hayden of Amuse presented Chilled Gulf Shrimp with Piquillo Pepper and Cucumber with Roasted Garlic Almond Sauce which was definitely a winner on my list, Richard Sandoval of Maya had me make a second trip to his table to sample his Corn Soup with Cuitlacoche Sauce, Wylie Dufresne of wd-50 offered an unusual tapas treat of slow poached egg with Parmesan Broth and Tomato, and Pichet Ong of Spice Market offered a Spiced Rice Cream with Orange and Pistachio, as well as Chocolate and Rose Sorbet.
Edward: Before Debra and I were able to enjoy the wine and tapas tasting, we participated in an energetic “Spain Goes Native” seminar by Doug French, MW, MS, who is one of only three people in the world to hold both MW and MS titles. A few of the white wines we tasted included Pazo Pondal Albariño 2003, D.O. Rias Baixas a crisp dry wine, Marqués de Alella Pansa Blanca 2003, D.O. Alella, which had floral notes of honeysuckle, sweetness and is grown in a slate soil, which was very much like a Riesling smell. Our red wine selection included Prineos Moristel 2002, D.O. Somontano, which was aromatic and earthy, with a taste of berries and little tannin, and a Ribas de Cabrera 2000, Bodegas Herederos Ribas, V.T. de Balears, which had complex flavors and layers of black raspberries, berries, and spices and made from Montenegro grapes. After the seminar, I decided to focus on reds wine with some character. Selecting Spanish red wines with character from such as large selection was truly a labor of love. Strolling though hundreds of red wines I found the following three reds to be my picks of the day: Amaren Tinto 1998 Reserva from Tricana Imports that featured an intense cherry nose with a rich full palate along with expressions of oak and dry tannins; Marqués de Tomares Gran Reserva 1996, Unión de Viticultores Riojanos from Parador Selections, LLC, which like the 1995 that was reviewed in the Gastronomy of Spain article in the March/April 2004 edition of LuxuryWeb (see Gastronomy section), is a mix of Tempranillo and Mazuelo, and like the 1995 this traditional style Spanish red is a very complex wine, with deep, rich flavor, and a long finish; and my final selection of the day was the Mas La Plana 1998, Miguel Torres, D.O. Penedés from the small but prestigious vineyards of Miguel Torres, the wine is a deep dense cherry color and has an intense bouquet with a palate that hints of cranberries, cherries and truffles with a very long and full finish.
Manos: Tapas are a traditional repast used in Spain to ensure that wine-drinkers do not get too inebriated (see Madrid ‘00) as well as to induce thirst to encourage more wine drinking. As long as the tapas makers understand the concept, the results are excellent, and so were most of the tapas served at this tasting, for example, from Landmarc, the deviled eggs with mortadella and green olives and the mussel salad with smoked pimento. However, every year one or two chefs misunderstand the concept and try to create tapas that showcase their inventiveness. So, the corn soup, though a wonderful taste, does not a tapa make and neither does a poached egg or spiced rice cream. These items were very interesting and tasted very good as samples of a chef’s expertise, but they should not be presented as tapas. On a more positive note the La Primera Jamón Serrano, from Swissrose International (www.swissrose.com), was a very good example of the art of Iberian dry-curing and ham-aging.
But the wines were the stars of the show. At the table of Show-Ross International the Marqués de Riscal Barón de Chirel 1996 was the top of the line; a fleshy Rioja that would be a great accompaniment to venison or one of the heartier beef dishes. I concur with Edward’s evaluation of Marqués de Tomares Gran Reserva 1996, from Parador Selections, LLC, which was almost as exuberant a wine as last year’s sample and should be on every serious wine drinker’s list. Don Román 2002, from the same importer, a much younger wine was a charmer, a little less fat than last year but with character, a classic example of a young Rioja that becomes better with some bottle-age; should be drunk within the next 4 to 6 years when it will be at it’s peak. From Viñas de Alange, the Palacio Quemado Reserva 2000 was an interesting bottle from the Ribera del Guardana D.O.; a bright cherry-red wine, a bit oaky, that could be another good partner for game or ripe cheese. From Frederic Wildman & Sons, I tasted another Rioja I have been following for a number of years, Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva 1995, a good example of the Iberian art of wine making. Their Coto Real Reserva 1997, was even better with lots of red fruit, eucalyptus and vanilla on the nose and ripe cherries, blackberries and licorice over toasted oak on the palate. Amongst the numerous wines presented by Fine Estates from Spain, Ganuza Reserva 2000 was a very good Rioja; it could stand 5 to 7 yeas of further aging which should make it a real star, though it is good enough to drink now.
Another interesting sample from one of the newer D.Os Empordá-Costa Brava was Castillo Perelada Reserva 2000 though at $60.00 MSRP it seemed rather pricy. From the same D.O. Oliver Conti Red 1999 seemed more in line price-wise. Bodegas Toro Albalá, from the Montillo-Moriles D.O. had Don Pedro Ximénez Gran Reserva 1975, an exceptionally tasting PX. And from Sanlúcar de Boarromeda I tasted another very good PX, Fernando de Castilla Pedro Ximénez Antique Sherry.
These were the most interesting wines at the tasting. There were a number of cavas and a few whites but the predominant production seems to be red. Of course there were plenty of other sherries than the few mentioned above, but those deserve an article of their own.
©December 2004. All rights reserved.
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