Albariño Tasting at La Tienda

I've always like Albariños ever since...and when Noel told me that he was planning a local Albariño tasting, to rate them and see which one was the best of the locally available ones, I could not let this opportunity pass. Rules were simple: all of them had to be locally available. At firts it was supposed to be a blind tasting but we decided not to so as not to complicate things. Anyway..as Johnny said, we are all Men of Horror...ay ....este 'Honor' pala...

The 5 that we were going to taste and rate were:

2006 Pazo de Barrantes Alabariño - sold by Ralph's
2007 Burgáns Albariño - sold by Barcino
2007 Códax Albariño - sold by Barcino
2007 Laxas Albariño - sold by Terry Selection
2007 Terras Gauda Albariño - sold by Premium Wine Exchange

As we tasted and re-tasted the wines, we had an array of food specially prepared by Chef Xavi, ideal for this type of wine. For tapas, we had Suahe, Kokotxas de Bacalao al Pil Pil, Pulpo a la Gallega, Escalivada, Boquerones, Almeja and Pimientos Rellenos de Bacalao. All of these are our typical porders in la Tienda, so I will no longer elaborate on them, except for the Pimientos rellenos de Bacalao. Green Peppers filled with Bacalao and shrimp, covered with a thick sauce, probably made with pureed Pimientos.

By the time we were done with the Tapas and wines, Noel had tallied all the scores, which were as follows:

1st Place - 2007 Laxas Albariño with 28 points (4 votes for 1st place and 2 votes for 2nd place), Terry Selection.

2nd Place - 2007 Terras Gauda Albariño with 24 points (2 votes for 1st place, 3 votes for 2nd place, 1 vote for 4th place), Premium Wine Exchange

3rd Place - 2007 Burgáns Albariño with 17 points (1 vote for 2nd place, 3 votes for 3rd place and 2 votes for 4th place), Barcino.

4th Place - 2007 Códax Albariño with 15 points (3 votes for 3rd place and 3 votes for 4th place), Barcino.

5th Place - 2006 Pazo de Barrantes Alabariño with 6 points.

We had no doubts and it was almost unanimous that the preferred one was the Laxas and the least preferred, the Pazo de Barrantes. Will all that hard work done...we could now enjoy our reds and the main courses. We had a total of around 10 bottles to choose from...so that was another hard task...We decided to open Noel's Napa, a 2005 KAPCSANDY FAMIILY WINERY and Rene's 2001 YARRA YERING DRY RED WINE No. 1. Rene had brought this back from a recent trip to Australia, mentioning this was a Bordeaux style Australian. It was quite good, but as soon as we opened Jojo's 95 CHATEAU L'EVANGILE, all bets were off.

We then were served the main dishes: Besugo, Paella de Verduras and Chuleton. Food was great as usual, and the Chuleton was exceptionally good this time, including the fries. We decided to open Greg's 2002 SOLANES PRIORAT, which would be a great match for the Chuleton.

Many other red that we brought were spared and will probably have to wait for another good Spanish dinner to be opened. Many thanks to Noel for thinking about organizing this dinner. Thank you Jojo, Rene, Johnny and Greg for the fine wines and company. Nice meeting you Greg. It was unfortunate Johnny had to leave early but I'm sure he enjoyed as well.

Gracias Chef por la cena maravillosa y hasta pronto!!

Kokotxas de Bacalao and Txakoli at La Tienda

Lunch last Wednesday was at La Tienda. The purpose was to try Txakoli, a very dry white wine with high acidity and low alcohol content produced in the Basque region of Spain. It is normally taken as an aperitif and goes very well with seafood dishes. It is served very chilled and poured at arms length height from the glass. We did not know that so Javi came out and tried to pour it for us. Unfortunately, we did not have the dispenser they normally put on the Txakoli bottles, so it was very difficult to pour that high. I'll have to find those dispenser next time I go to Spain.

We decided then that the lunch would be all tapas, which Chef Javi prepared for us. For starters, and while waiting for Noel who arrived late, Jay and I started with Jay's bottle of: Bodegas Hidalgo Pastrana Single Vineyard Manzanilla Pasada, a fine sherry from the Southern region of Spain. This sherry was quite dry and pairs very well with Tapas like chorizo and olives and cheese.



As soon as we were done with the Sherry and still waiting for Noel, we decided to have the other food brought to our table. We opened my bottle(thanks to Nick for hand carrying this for me all the way from Madrid): Txomin Etxaniz Getaria 2008 from the DO Getariako Txakolina. As said in the beginning, at first we poured it directly into the glass, then Chef Javi told us it had to be poured from high above and in a wider/shorter glass, to sort of 'activate' the wine and for it open up. It was quite acidic and fruity, and it felt like it was a bubble, very refreshing and a simple wine. I will definitely stock up on this wine, for those hot summer days or for a tapas dinner.

With the Txakoli, we also opened a bottle of: 2007 Laxas Albariño, one of my favorite locally available Albariño wines. With this we had Kokotxas de Bacalao al PilPil, a Tortilla of Jamon, Asparragus and Cheese and Hojaldritos (small cakes) of Chistorra, Squid on its own ink and one of our house favorites: Escalivada. All the appetizers were as usual superb and perfect match for our wine. We decided to stick to whites, although Noel brought a Bandol Rose wine, we decided not to open it anymore.

We had no more room for dessert, so after finishing up all the wine and tapas, we had our double espressos. My Dad showed up and joined us for coffee and since we were talking about Sherry, he offered us a drink of Bodegas Hidalgo Cream Alameda, I think some sort of sherry mixed with Pedro Ximenez. A perfect after meal digestif...

Thank you Javi for preparing this tapas meal for us, and I still have one bottle left of Txakoli which I will gladly share with you soon....

Tapas in Madrid

I was in Madrid for a couple of days and want to share with you some of the food I had there. Most of my meals were tapas so I decided to put them all here in one post. I had a sit down degustation dinner on my first night, which I will feature in another separate post.

That day, lunch was at a place called Mercado de La Reina in Gran Via. For starters we had a bottle of Martin Codax Albariño white wine, a white from Galicia which is one of my favorites nowadays...with that we had a plate of Croquetas de Jamon Iberico and plate of Pimientos del Padrón. They are unique to a town called Padrón, in the south west of Galicia (La Coruña).The fresh, crispness of the wine was a good match to the Croquetas and Pimientos for starters...definitely enjoyed this one.

Later that afternoon, I met up with a friend who was in Madrid for a project and he took me for more tapas. But this time, he took me to the Santa Ana area (right behind my Hotel), very well known for it to have the highest ratio of tapas bar per sqm. in Madrid.

We started off in a Place called LA VENENCIA, a bar probably over 100 years old. All they serve is different kinds of Fino, a drier finer variety of Sherry. Unlike sherry, fino is not as sweet and has to be consumed right away, if not it could loose its flavour within a few hours. We had a couple of glasses of Fino and a Manzanilla, another variety of sherry, which was a bit fresher and more delicate in flavor. With every order comes a free tapa of olives and Chorizo...



After the quick stop in La Venencia, we headed towards a Tapas Bar called La Fragua de Vulcano, recommended by a friend of his. As we get there, the place is packed and we have to wait to be seated. After a 15 minute wait, we are finally seated. The place had no frills, very simple decor. The menu was very limited although they had their daily specials by the bar.

I found this sign, by the entrance of the place, very funny and amusing. Translated, It says:" Mr. Jesus Cerezal,owner and Founder of this F***ing House".

We ordered and the food came immediately. As for the wine, we asked for Red wine, and the only thing they ask you is if you want Rioja or Ribera del Duero, so hardly any choice for us. We decided on Ribera del Duero. With the wine, we had Empanadas, Calamares and Rabo de Toro.

Such simple but so delightful food. The Calamares was perfect, not too oily nor rubbery. The Oxtail was one of the best I've tried, served with a simple sauce and fries. We did not have more food since I was still too full from lunch, so right after we left to have a cortado (espresso macchiato) and headed back to the Hotel. Anybody in Madrid I would recommend this place for simple tapas...

La Tienda - Revisited

Dinner last week was at La Tienda. I wanted Noel to try the Paella that Chef Javi makes which is the way I like it. E also joined us for the dinner. As soon as we arrived, we opened the wines we brought for the dinner to let them breathe.

Appetizers were immediately served. For starters, Chef Javi served us his version of steak Tartare (since he knows I really like this). Good way to start a meal...For our main appetizers, I asked him to prepare Pulpo a la Gallega, Escalivada and Boquerones. The Escalivada was served first which we drank with the Rose wine that Noel brought (La Bandol). This is my favorite Rose wine, very crisp and refreshing. Goes well with anything. The escalivada is a mixture of grilled eggplant and peppers, with a little Olive oil.

Then we were served the Pulpo a La Gallega and Boquuerones. Pulpo is Octopus served a la Gallega (the Galician way) with olive oil and lots of Pimenton (paprika) served in a wooden plate. The Boquerones are fillet fish that are soaked overnight in Vinegar, then served with Olive oil, garlic, tomato and onions. Both appetizers were delicious and paired with a 2006 Laxas Albarino white Wine. Albarino is a type of white wine grape only grown in Galicia. Very refreshing, clean and crisp white wine that goes perfectly with grilled seafood. I specially enjoyed the Boquerones with this wine.

Boquerones

Pulpo a la Gallega

For our main course, we ordered Paella de Verduras with Basmati rice (Vegetable Paella with Basmati rice), Besugo a la vizcaina and Chuleton.


The Paella in my opinion was perfect. Just the right cooking time. I normally just like the rice in the paella and don't eat the rest of the topping, so this one is perfect for me. Also the Basmati rice gives this dish a great fragrance. Such simple dish but so tasteful.

The Besugo a la Vizcaina is baked with olive oil, lots of garlic and Parsley. Another simple dish yet with lots of taste. The fish is very fresh and a perfect companion to the Paella de verduras.

The Chuleton (steak) was the meat dish of our dinner. cooked outside and rare inside. This dish paired very well with the bottle of 2005 Torres Salmos Priorato that I brought. Priorato is a region in Catalunya where the have been mkingpowerful deep red wines for more than 8 centuries. The 2005 Salmos is composed of Garnacha, Syrah, Carinena, and Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 9 months in new French oak. This full bodied wine was the perfect paring for the Chuleton we had. The other red wine we drank was the Beronia Grand Reserva 1996, which is almost 90% Tempranillo. Very smooth taste not as powerful as the Priorato, but equally as good.

To end the night, we had coffee since we had no more room for dessert. I definitely enjoyed this dinner and hope that the rest did.