GUIA PEÑIN DE LOS VINOS DE ESPAÑA 2018

Este año continuamos entre los vinos españoles considerados excelentes por Guía Peñin de los vinos de España.

“Caudum Bodegas Larraz 2014”  91 puntos y cinco estrellas

Caudum 2012 is coming to San Francisco

Caudum 2012 is coming to San Francisco.Thanks to Mario Galarreta, Mat and Paco Canela Bistro Bar and Laura and Brad Jensen Bon Vivant Imports Idaho

UEC ‏@UECatadores #UEC presenta hoy una selección de las medallas @RiojaWine_ES de @ConcursoBacchus

Caudum Seleccion Especial 2012 Premio Bacchus de Plata en el Concurso Internacional Bacchus 2016 la mayor cita vinícola en España.1852 vinos procedentes de 21 países

La gran cita española con el mundo del vino, el Concurso Internacional de Vinos Bacchus 2016, ya conoce su medallero. La decimocuarta edición del mayor certamen vinícola de cuantos se celebran en nuestro país consolida su prestigio internacional con un total de 1.852 vinos inscritos procedentes de 21 países.

 El fallo se dio tras una estricta cata a ciegas realizada por los 80 jueces reunidos por la Unión Española de Catadores en el Casino de Madrid entre los pasados 18 y 21 de marzo. Jurados de primer nivel mundial liderados por diez Masters of Wine (John Salvi, Demetri Walters, Andrew Howard, Sarah Abbott, Annette Scarfe, Xenia Irwin, Neil Sommerfelt, Peter McCombie, Victoria Burt y Michelle Cherrutti-Kowal), a los que acompañaron dos Masters Sommelier (Laura Rhys y Arnaud Bardary), responsables de compras de algunas de las más importantes cadenas de distribución internacional (la británica Waitrose, la holandesa Ahold, la suiza Denner o el responsable de compras de vinos españoles en el monopolio sueco Systembolaget) así como periodistas especializados y representantes de las principales instituciones vitivinícolas a nivel mundial. Una muestra más del prestigio que a nivel internacional goza una cita como el Concurso Internacional de Vinos Bacchus.

Vinos procedentes de un total de 81 indicaciones geográficas de calidad de la España vinícola, con 68 Denominaciones de Origen incluidas, son el fiel reflejo de la importancia de Bacchus como plataforma comercial y mediática tanto en el mercado nacional como en los internacionales. Prueba de ello es asimismo la participación, además de España, de vinos procedentes de los cinco continentes del atlas mundial incluyendo veinte países: Alemania, Argentina, Australia, Brasil, Eslovaquia, EEUU, Francia, Chile, Túnez, Italia, México, Suecia, Grecia, Nueva Zelanda, Perú, Portugal, Principado de Andorra, Reino Unido, República Checa y Uruguay, que encuentran en Bacchus un respaldo esencial a la calidad de sus elaboraciones.

http://www.uec.es/bacchus/images/Listado%20de%20premiados%20Bacchus%202016.pdf

A Chef From The USA Hooked On La Rioja Mat Schuster of Canela restaurant in San Francisco discovers La Rioja's Michelin stars.

http://www.foodswinesfromspain.com/spanishfoodwine/global/products-recipes/products/more-about-products/american-chef-mat-schuster-hooked-on-la-rioja.html

A Chef From The USA Hooked On La Rioja

Mat Schuster of Canela restaurant in San Francisco discovers La Rioja's Michelin stars.

American Chef Mat Schuster (third from the left) and the staff of Venta Moncalvillo restaurant (La Rioja).

Author: Rodrigo García Fernández/©ICEX.

An American chef with a passion for Spain. A successful Spanish restaurant in the cosmopolitan city of San Francisco. A journey to two small towns in La Rioja in search of avant garde cuisine, top-quality products and culinary inspiration. Spanish chefs Ignacio Echapresto and Francis Paniego welcomed Mat Schuster to their restaurants with open arms a few weeks ago. Schuster, the owner and head chef of Canela restaurant on the West Coast of the United States, gives us a first-hand account of the sensations and lessons that he encountered in these two Michelin-starred Spanish restaurants, which are located in small towns in La Rioja. “It was magical”.

What made you decide to travel to La Rioja?

I first explored La Rioja two years ago, mainly to visit some of the wineries where we get our wine.  I fell in love with the food at the same time, completely.  One of the bodegas prepared a suckling lamb for us on smoldering grape vines and my fate was sealed.  
 

Why did you choose Venta Moncalvillo and Echaurren restaurants?

The north and south of Spain are so vastly different.  Although we do get inspiration from all over Spain in our restaurant Canela, the north is unique for the combination of stellar food as well as wine.  After exploring the region a few years ago and having some unforgettable experiences, I knew I had to return for a more in depth study.  

Since most of our contacts in the north of Spain are with wineries and not restaurants, we consulted Carlos Piserra at Bodegas Larraz for suggestions.  Carlos makes an outstanding pie franco (ungrafted vines) wine from La Rioja called Caudum, and we had originally met him through mutual friends who live in Logroño.  We loved the wine so much, we arranged to specially import 1/3 of their production to be the only restaurant in the USA to sell it. 

Since they also sell to many top-notch restaurants in La Rioja, we thought they would have some good suggestions for us.  Carlos suggested 2 restaurants, Michelin starLa Venta Moncalvillo in Daroca de Rioja and two Michelin star El Portal del Echaurren in Ezcaray.  We had actually dined at La Venta two years prior, and it was our favorite meal of that trip. You could say it was meant to be!  We had not dined at Echaurren, but were aware of their reputation with years of tradition as well as innovative new methods of cooking.
 

Both restaurants are located in small towns (especially La Venta Moncalvillo), that are so completely different from San Francisco. What was this experience like for you?

Venta Moncalvillo is in a very small town in La Rioja called Daroca. There are lots of little pueblos that dot the landscape in the area and most people live in different ones, but are usually not too far apart.  Most people have enough land to at least have a small garden which is definitely different than San Francisco.  It brings a great sense of seasonality knowledge as well as ingredient knowledge to every person of the town.  
 

During my time at La Venta Moncalvillo, Chef Ignacio Echapresto was nice enough to let me stay at a flat he owns in Lardero, which is right outside of Logroño. Many times, before or after my shift in Daroca at Venta Moncalvillo, I would head into Logroño.  I had only visited Logroño once before for its famous pintxos and did not know much about the city. I wandered Logroño and made it my own.  I had a favorite place for pastries, cooking equipment and even a place to go do hot yoga - which reminded me of San Francisco where our restaurant is.  
 

El Portal del Echaurren is located in Ezcaray which is definitely bigger than Daroca but for sure much smaller than Logroño.  Ezcaray is nicely situated between Logroño and Burgos, but not super close to either. Additionally, with my work schedule at El Portal, I didn’t have much time to make the trek to the larger cities. But there is something magical about Ezcaray. As much as Logroño is pintxo bars and shopping, Ezcaray is mountains, animals and farmland. One of my favorite sounds I would hear on a daily basis was the clanging of cow bells from the cows that are seemingly everywhere in the town. I spent my off-time in Ezcaray exploring the mountain trails, riding bikes through farmland and shopping the local ingredients at the artisan food shops in the tiny town. The town is very picturesque and you can tell the locals have a real sense of pride about where they live.  
 

What ingredients, dishes and techniques caught your attention from each of the restaurants?

I was fortunate to learn new things every day.  And although I always love learning about perfecting traditional Spanish recipes such as rich pil pil, creamy croquetas, and savory potaje (stews), the avant-garde techniques are what stand out in my head. Learning how to work with Manitol at La Venta Moncalvillo was a super fun day.  It is a powder that you mix with sugar and color to make hard shells in seconds. The molten liquid is poured into silicon molds to produce shells of chestnuts and Cava corks, or anything else you can imagine. These shells are filled with delicate mousses and creams, or again, whatever you can think of.  

At El Portal del Echaurren, I learned how to make “caviar” out of wine using Agar Agar and cold sunflower oil.  This is another technique that can be applied to countless different flavors. They were using it at the time to top a cajeta custard of foie gras.    
 

Did you have any time to explore La Rioja, its landscapes, art and wineries?

One of the first places I fell in love with on this trip was Navarrete, a small, medieval town outside of Logroño in La Rioja.  I stayed there for a few days before I moved to the flat in Lardero.  I was in a small hostel right on the Camino de Santiago and watched as pilgrims would walk, hike, skip, stagger and wander through the cobble stone streets.  My window looked out onto a very popular bar there called Bar Deportivo which is run by the Spanish Chef wife and her Italian husband.  Each day, they would greet and feed the travelers on the trail as well as locals who would flock there for stuffed Piquillo peppers in ink sauce, roasted lamb and potatoes and cold beer and wine.  I would sit out on the patio, read my book, and enjoy the foods, drinks, sights and sounds in my off-times from La Venta.  It was magical. 
 

Another town I explored was Nájera, a small pueblo with many historical influences from Romans, Jews and Muslims alike.  It has a river flowing through the town which adds to its beauty.  I got a little lost in my rental Citroen driving through the small cobblestone streets that would seem to dead end for reasons unknown to me, but I’m sure not to locals.  I ended up with a nice plate of entrecot de buey (delicious steak) at a local asador.
 

We can’t forget the walled city of Laguardia as well.  I have been there before and it is one of my favorite towns in La Rioja Alavesa (it is a subregion of DOCa Rioja which is located in the Basque Country).  It sits up on a hill overlooking the vineyards of the region.  One of the days we were there, there was a Basque traditional dance festival and we watched as the youth of the town danced in traditional outfits.  
 

We also borrowed bikes and made a small trek from Hotel Viura in Villabuena de Alava through Samaniego to Remírez de Ganuza (one of the bodegas that we carry at our restaurant Canela).  We had to stock up on Erre Punto Tinto, an awesome carbonic maceration wine that is not sold in the United States.  Then it was on to Bodegas Ostatu where they were preparing us a special lunch and wine pairings.  It was amazing.

 
Had you been to Spain before this experience?

My partner is from Madrid and we have been coming to Spain’s northern or southern regions once or twice per year for about 10 years.  Although it is roughly the size of California where our restaurant Canela is, Spain is such a diverse country with each region sometimes feeling completely different then the region it neighbors.  I have never been bored here!  I am already thinking about where I will go next when I return.

Richard Jennings Some of the characterful and memorable Spanish #wines on the list @Canela_SF, Canela Bistro Bar. San Francisco

Some of the characterful and memorable Spanish#wines on the list @Canela_SF, curated by owner Paco Cifuentes. — con Paco Cifuentes en Canela Bistro Bar.

WineWriting.com by Richard Mark James Spain: Bodegas Larraz, Rioja

Just in case you were wondering (yeah, right), I first tasted one of these Caudum Larraz wines last year, which is featured in a Rioja mini-focus looking at the 2007 and 2009 vintages: Spain: Rioja 2007 and 2009.

The 'Caudum' wines were launched over ten years ago as a limited edition range sourced from a half-hectare vineyard called Finca La Cuesta in the Cenicero area, which is still planted with very old un-grafted vines apparently (they're keeping a bit hush-hush on which varieties though). These reds are aged for at least a year in French and American oak barrels and aren't fined or filtered. Winemaking wise, I'd say they perhaps represent the more "modern" face of Rioja, using more new oak and building a denser, more structured and maybe more export-focused style (only available in Canada as far as I can tell...). There's nothing necessarily wrong with that at all, although I found their 2010 tasting-noted below a little oak heavy when I tried it. However, if the probably finer 2008 is anything to go by, it shows these wines do need a few years before they come together and start to develop. Same goes for their 2009 "Special Selection" red, also reviewed below, which is denser and more concentrated still and has coped with the oak treatment better. I don't know what the prices of these wines are, but I can find out...

More info (although not much in English) @ www.bodegaslarraz.com, or try their Facebook page linked underneath the photo I copied.

2008 Caudum (14% abv) - deep and dense and still pretty purpley black in colour for its age, same goes for the initial oak notes on the nose (purple oak haze man?) - coconut, cedar and vanilla - blended with smoky cassis fruit and liquorice undertones, lightly floral even as well with intricate savoury meaty edges; fairly firm and dry in the mouth with more subtle coconut texture/flavour than on the nose, quite fine tannins though and powerful finish although balanced in the end; tangy vs lush berry fruit with lingering oak too, beginning to develop attractive mature savoury flavours. 2nd day - still quite oaky but has lovely richer sweet berry, cherry and blackcurrant fruit, nice texture with coconut hints and 'chalky' tannins, firm but not over-extracted vs good concentration, powerful finish with sweet vs savoury flavour mix, lightly grainy yet the oak has diminished leading to a fairly fine finish. 4th day open - yes, it did last that long! Still surprisingly alive, more sweet fruit and oak coming through layered with complex 'cheesy' and savoury notes, dark cherry/berry and black olive vs that fair grip, nice dry texture and oomph vs a hint of freshness too. Quite serious wine, was obviously still too young when first opened. Now, that was an essay almost!

2010 Caudum (14% abv) - coconut oak dominates the nose, rich colour and lush fruit vs pretty extracted and solid mouth-feel, oaky finish bolstered by ripe berry fruit. One day open: still showing as rich and extracted, has good substance underneath although the oak hasn't yet blended into the wine... Mind you, I thought that about the 08 which did develop nicely through the oak, so just "let it lie" for the time-being.

2009 Caudum Selección Especial (14% abv) - seems less oaky than the other two (although...), or has absorbed it better probably, with a lush and punchy palate, more blackberry/cherry with liquorice and prune edges even, grippy and extracted layered with lots of fruit vs coconut grain, dry yet fine tannins, powerful and concentrated. Showing some savoury development yet solid and quite closed up, although turned softer and rounder after a while despite its grip, bite and punch. Good stuff, should continue to improve in bottle for a few years. Left open for a couple of days or so: not oxidised, a tad smoother and less oaky yet still has that nice thick texture and concentration.

http://www.winewriting.com/2015/01/spain-bodegas-larraz-rioja.html?spref=fb

https://www.facebook.com/caudum.bodegaslarraz/posts/806223959448858