Aged Rioja Wine Dinner at Terrys

Finally..after a month or so of preparation (and a lot of coordination), we finally had our Aged Rioja Wine Dinner. Thank you Aaron for having the idea of a Rioja dinner and Noel for organizing all the food with JC de Terry. We were 9 in total (Noel, Catha, Aaron, Jo, Jojo, Jay, Keichi, Johnny and myself) and each one was to bring a old/aged Rioja wine (some had acces to their deep collections, some had to scramble and buy -like me) and some brought not so aged wines but very good as well.

The ff was the line up of our wines:

• 1985 Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva (Miguel)
• 1985 Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial (Jojo)
• 1989 Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 890 (Noel)
• 1995 CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva (Jay)
• 1995 Campillo Gran Reserva (Aaron)
• 1997 Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 (Aaron)
• 1998 Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial (Jay)
• 1999 Cerro Añon Gran Reserva (Johnny)
• 2001 Marqués de Riscal Barón de Chirel (Keiichi)

• 2001 Ondarre Reserva (Care of JC de Terry)

The food was carefully prepared (to pair perfectly with the wine) by JC in coordination with Noel, so we were assured that the food would be top notch and woud pair perfectly with the wines we had.

For starters, we had: Pavia de Ventresca en Remoulade de Anchoas (Deep Fried Tuna Belly with Anchovy Remoulade), paired with a Marques de Caceres Blanco 07. The Tuna belly was soaked overnight with the same wine that it was paired with. A light tempura batter coated the Tuna...delicious. Also a very good touch, the Anchovy Remoulade, which gave it that zingy taste.

Next, and still with the white wine, Gratin de Ostras en Crema de Manchego y Espinacas (Oysters Baked in Manchego Cheese and Spinach Cream). Again, perfectly paired with the wine, the cheese was not just manchego but a bit of Parmesan. Another Beautiful creation...

After a quick break, the third of our appetizers arrived. And for me, one of the best of the night: Suprema de Piquillo Relleno a la Vinagreta de Chistorra (Stuffed Piquillo Peppers topped with Chistorra Vinagrette). This was one of my favourites..stuffed Piquillo with a Pate de Cabrales, tiny bits of Chistorra Chorizo and vinagrette. With lots of flavors and contrasts, I just loved this dish. At this point we still had the white wine for the pairing of this.

They then poured the 2nd wine, a Protos 2007 Rosado. This was a more full bodied, potent slightly aged Rosado which JC recommended as pairing for the ff: Salmis de Caracoles a la Andaluza (Escargots Bathed in a rich Andalusian Sauce) and for me, another one the highlights of the night: Sinfonia de Crustaceos al Rosado de Penafiel (The Quintessential Mediterranean Seafood Soup).

The wine with the dishes were a perfect match..the Escargots, neatly tucked into small clay pots, with some mashed potatoes and a pice of crispy bacon, simply fantastic. The soup, was a semi-clear broth (If I am not mistaken, he used some rosado wine for to make the broth), with a mix of Scallops, Mantis Shrimp, fish and Squid. On the side, a mixture of Extra virgin Olive Oil, Parsley, Garlic to give the dish some kick and spice. I am really not a soup person, but this kinda of soup, I can have everyday.

We then took a breather and while waiting, we had the red wines opened. The staff at Terrys were not keen on opening it themselves for fear of damaging the cork, since many of the bottles were old. We then decided to have the "Masters" in opening old bottles Jojo and Johnny do the job, which did did very well and willingly. It was a tough job but someone had to do it.

The first flight of red wines were served, together with our 'first' Main Course: Bien-Me-Sabe de Caballa (The famous Seared Adobo Mackarel from Cadiz). Very lightly seared mackarel, with a salad and slightly drizzled with Olive Oil and 12 year old Balsamic Vinegar. At this point I wish I had saved some of my white wine for this, but since I had no more, so I decided to have this without any wine.

Wines were poured and we started the tasting of the first flight or reds.

The main dish was served: Rabo de Toro en Chilindron de Tempranillo (Ox Tail in Chilindron Sauce enhanced with tempranillo). Chilindron is a typical sauce from Aragon, where they use several kinds of peppers and paper thin slices of Jamon Serrano, which eventually melt away and become part of the Sauce. JC tweaked a bit the sauce by adding tempranillo (red wine made of tempranillo grapes) to match our theme dinner. The Ox Tail was very tender, and the sauce was just to die for. It was perfectly accompanied by a side of Arroz Bomba with some Garbanzos. This dish I really enjoyed with the latter wines of the first flight (La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 1989 and the CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva 1995). They had more body and weight and paired good with the heavy sauce of the Ox Tail.

The 2nd flight of red wines were poured (sorry I have not pictures fo them-I was having too much fun drinking and laughing that I forgot to take some pictures) and we continued our tasting. Of the second flight, I enjoyed the Baron de Chirel, very dark, masculine powerful wine, although I think it was still a bit tight/closed but with more time in the bottle, or some decanting, this wine can show its worth.

For dessert, another masterpiece from JC: Recuerdos de mi Infancia - Pera Confitada en Vino Dulce de Jumilla sobre Espuma de Anis Avainillado (Pear Confit on a fluffy foam of Anis Seed and Vanilla). The Pear was poached with the same dessert wine that was served, a Casa de la Ermita late Harvest Viogner 2006. The fact that the wine was not so sweet I liked, since it did not overpower the pears, which was really the star of the dish.

We then lingered around the tables (there were several other clients in the Restaurant that we knew) tasting and re-tasting the wines. JC gifted us with a short piece on the Piano, an Andalusian piece of his own creation, and a few minutes before 12, we called it a night.

Again, I would like to thank everybody who made this possible. Also a very special thanks to JC de Terry, who went out of his way to prepare us this special meal and all the passion he put into creating it. I hope some time very soon we can repeat and have another spectacular meal like this..a Riber del Duero dinner perhaps??....

Viva La Rioja !!!!!