Spain Gourmetour 79 (2010)

EDIT

If you were asked to name Spain’s wine-producing regions, Madrid and the Balearic Islandswould probably come pretty low on your list.Yet, thanks to recent investment and the effortsof enthusiastic young winemakers, stylish, distinctive wines now bear the name of the capitaland its region. Meanwhile, the Balearics are rediscovering grape varieties from their distantpast, predating phylloxera by many centuries: the Romans are known to have thought highlyof the wine from these islands.Whereas the Romans were not, it seems, much given to hunting, Spain has always been huntingterritory. What started as a primordial quest for food evolved into a recreational and even touristactivity. These days it’s done with an eye to exports (of both fresh and processed meat).Olive oil is an integral, eternal element of the Spanish diet, and has been one of our exports sinceRoman times. Today, it’s being put to fresh uses by our pastry cooks and master chocolatiers.Sherry, another Spanish classic, also features in this issue. Our account of the Equipo Navazosproject is sure to whet your appetite for vinos de Jerez and their long and fascinating history.Spain’s top chefs rely on a whole network of suppliers for the prime quality ingredients thatprovide that exclusive edge that their clientele demands. In some cases, this has had the sideeffect of reinstating local products that had fallen into disuse and oblivion; in others, ofintroducing and acclimatizing exotic fruits and vegetables.All in all, hours of happy reading. Enjoy! And don’t forget to keep those comments andsuggestions coming!

Cathy [email protected]

01 EDITORIAL AF 6.qxd 27/4/10 08:57 Página 1

Editor-in-chiefCathy Boirac

Publication CoordinatorsAlmudena Martín RuedaMaría Moneo

Photographic ArchiveMabel Manso

Editorial SecretaryÁngela Castilla

Design and Art DirectionManuel Estrada Design

MapsJavier Belloso

Color SeparationsEspacio y Punto

Printed in SpainArtes Gráficas Palermo

[email protected]

D.L.: M.51647-2002

ISSN: 1696-1021

NIPO: 705-10-014-1

CoverJuan Manuel Sanz/©ICEX

Information and PublisherICEXState Secretary for Trade andTourism, Ministry of Industry,Tourism and Trade.

www.icex.es

Subscription:Spain Gourmetour is apublication of the SpanishInstitute for Foreign Trade(ICEX) of the State Secretaryfor Trade and Tourism,Ministry of Industry, Tourismand Trade. The magazine isissued three times a year inEnglish, French German andSpanish, and is distributedfree of charge to tradeprofessionals. If you want tosubscribe to SpainGourmetour please contactthe Economic and CommercialOffices at the Embassies ofSpain (see list on page 108).

The opinions expressed bythe authors of the articles arenot necessarily shared by theSpanish Institute for ForeignTrade (ICEX), which cannot beheld responsible for anyomissions or error in the text.

2010 Le Cordon Bleu World FoodMedia Awards. Best Food Magazine

MAY-AUGUST 2010 SPAIN GOURMETOUR 3

Food BasicsThe Sweetness ofOlive Juice ........................52

Ahead of the Game.An UndervaluedDelicacy............................68

RecipesCésar Ráez. Game Meat ....82

Business WatchEquipo Navazos.Treasure Hunters ..............94

Colophon

Have a Spanish Break!Yoshiko Akehi fromTokyo .............................100

Regular Features

Lasting Impressions ........102

Ad Index ........................106

Spain Overseas ...............108

Exporters........................110

Credits............................112

Editorial ............................1

ColorsDO Vinos de MadridComes of Age ...................10

WinesIsland Wines I.Balearic Islands. A MagicalReprieve ...........................26

Culinary FarePosh Nosh. Suppliersto the Stars .......................38

SPAIN GOURMETOURMay-August 2010 No.79

CONT

ENTS

02 SUMARIO AF.qxd 23/3/10 20:25 Página 2

L A MANCHA, where great dreams are born.The land of Spain’s largest vineyards,

tended with loving care.A place where grapes take their time to ripen,

inspiring amazing wines, full of character.Red, white, rosé and sparkling.Wines that appeal to everyone.

The Origins of the Wine

10 MAY-AUGUST 2010 SPAIN GOURMETOUR

MADRID

Since gaining DO status in 1990, the Madrid wine region has transformed intoa small, quality-orientated region. New investment, often from local familieswhose grandparents tended vineyards before them, and young winemakingtalent are helping to put the wines from around the capital firmly on the map.In the following pages we take a look at the Madrid wine style, or rather styles,to find out exactly what this region brings to the party and why the wines arewell worth seeking out.

DO Vinos de

Comes of Age

03 VINOS DE MADRID AF.qxd 23/3/10 22:21 Página 10

12

During the 20th century, the vineyardsof Madrid faced numerous challengesand setbacks. Phylloxera struck in1914, causing widespread devastationjust as the vineyard disease did inmany other European regions. Whenthe region was replanted, foreignvarieties (at least those consideredforeign at the time in the region)were introduced, such as Garnacha, avariety which has increasing relevanceand interest for the region today.The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)was another major setback, but theperiod that followed saw the vineyardlandscape change significantly:urbanization caused the land undervine to diminish as Madrid grew tobecome a major European capital. Thevineyards of Barajas and Torrejónmade way for the city’s first airportand air bases, while the wines of townsclose to the city, such as Alcalá deHenares (Spain Gourmetour No. 75),became a thing of the past as homesfor the city’s workers took priority.

Arganda:winegrowing hubToday most visitors to the DO Vinosde Madrid region make Arganda theirstarting point. This is the largest of thethree sub-zones (Facts and Stats, page25) and home to well over half of theDO’s producers. Arganda is 50 km (31

miles) from the city center along theA3 highway and connected to the cityby metro.Here traditional co-operativesrub shoulders with family-run,quality-orientated producers, as wellas a number of newcomers withonly a few vintages behind them.The landscape is dotted with smallindustry, but it’s not hard to find thisarea’s agricultural heart, especiallyoff the main roads, where olive treesmingle with vineyards in a tranquilsetting—one that contrasts dramaticallywith the nearby metropolis.Tempranillo is the main red grapegrown in Arganda’s vineyards; indeed,the variety is only found in smallquantities in Navalcarnero and SanMartín. Mario Bravo, viticulturaladvisor to the region’s regulatorycouncil, says: “The variety has adaptedwell to the climate and soils of theregion. The presence of limestone anda higher proportion of clay in the soilsof Arganda (allowing for better waterretention) favor grape quality andresult in a structured wine style.” Hecontinues: “As the name suggests(the variety takes it’s name from theSpanish word temprano, meaningearly), Tempranillo is an early varietywhich allows it to ripen easily, evenin the highest areas such as Valdilecha,Chinchón, Villarejo de Salvanés andColmenar de Oreja.”Although Tempranillo’s importanceis widely acknowledged and resultscan be rewarding, winemakers admitthat the grape presents a series ofchallenges here. It is oftencomplemented by non-localvarieties—Cabernet, Merlot and

DO VINOS DE MADRID

TEXTPATRICIA LANGTON/©ICEX

PHOTOSPATRICIA R. SOTO/©ICEXPABLO NEUSTADT/©ICEX

Olga Fernández, Bodegas Licinia


15

structure and good ageing ability. He’spleased with progress for Cabernet,Syrah and Merlot, which areincreasingly sourced from vineyardsestablished by the producer in recentyears, but he would also like to seemore later-ripening varieties permittedwithin the DO, such as CabernetFranc and Petit Verdot.Tempranillo was the first variety thatformer pilot-turned-winemaker CarlosGosálbez planted when he started toplant vineyards in 1992, some of thehighest in the area, reaching 800 m(2,624 ft) at Pozuelo del Rey. CabernetSauvignon vines followed, and morerecently Syrah and Merlot, all grownorganically. He originally sold thegrapes from his vineyards beforelaunching his own wines with the2000 vintage.He says: “The vines have to work hardhere in the stony soil, where there’slittle water and poor nutrients. Theair is fresher than at lower altitudesand the wide diurnal temperature

range favors phenolic synthesis.”Tempranillo clearly defines thestructured, concentrated style of hiswines, including the Qubél range,but, as he explains, alternativevarieties are needed to compensatefor Tempranillo’s weak acidity,especially in a year like 2009.

InternationalinfluenceOther newcomers in Arganda havemoved in a different direction, andthis makes the Madrid wine sceneboth unpredictable and interesting.Two examples of estates with a veryindependent philosophy are El Regajaland Señorío de Val Azul. While theyboth have Spanish owners—theGarcía-Pita and the Ayuso families,respectively—there is a stronginternational influence in boththeir wines.El Regajal, a wine widely availablein Madrid restaurants, comes from an

estate south of Arganda, in Aranjuez.Tempranillo originally dominated inthe plantings that were made 1998; itwas supported by the French trio ofCabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrahplanted on land sloping down to theTagus River. However, as the wine stylehas evolved under the direction ofJérôme Bougnaud, Cabernet (graftedonto some of the original Tempranillovines) has taken precedence with theaim of achieving “wines with goodfruit character but greater finesse andlength”. The famous French grapeaccounts for nearly half of the blendin the latest vintage, the 2008. This isundoubtedly one of the region’s mostsuccessful wines with a reputation forconsistently high quality, thoughperhaps it lacks a little in local identity.The vineyards at Señorío de Val Azul,complete with irrigation systems, wereplanted to Cabernet, Merlot and Syrahand a small amount of Tempranilloaround a decade ago. Its debut vintagewas the 2005, and the 2007 wines are

14

Syrah—and occasionally Garnacha.Olga Fernández is the oenologist atBodegas Licinia, a contemporary28 ha (69 acre) estate at Morata deTajuña planted to Tempranillo,Cabernet, Syrah and Merlot (the latterhas yet to come on stream). Thebodega’s first vintage was the 2006and, as in the case of many smallerproducers in the region, organicviticulture is practiced. The decisionto do this was fairly easy as theincidence of disease is low and thereforeopting for organic viticulture isrelatively inexpensive.Fernández joined this young projectafter working in the Tempranillo-dominated regions of DOCa Rioja andDO Ribera del Duero, so I was curiousto know about her experience with thevariety at this more southerly latitude.She says: “The climate is the mainchallenge for Tempranillo here. Forexample, in 2009 Tempranillo wasn’teasy with such high temperatures andlittle rainfall. We try to balance

potential alcohol levels, pH, acidityand polyphenols, and we do thisthrough viticultural management:pruning, yield, sun exposure, canopymanagement and irrigation. We needto do a lot of work in the vineyard.”She adds: “The climatic conditionsof the year are crucial for Tempranillo,and this has a direct influence. Thebest for me so far for Licinia is the2007; the Tempranillo from that yearis really good and interesting.”Fernández therefore chose to includea generous amount of Tempranillowhen she selected the blend for theimpressive Licinia 2007, a delightfullyfresh wine with harmonious fruit, oakand tannins, which is complementedby 40% of Syrah.Oenologist Luis Güemes has beenworking for six years with Tempranilloat Bodegas Tagonius, a medium-sizedproducer (300,000 bottles per year)at Tielmes. He says: “Tempranillo is anoble variety and it makes marvelouswines in Spain, especially in DOCa

Rioja and DO Ribera del Duero, buthere it is more challenging due to thewarmer climate.” He finds that analtitude of at least 700 m (2,296 ft)favors quality, fresh nighttimetemperatures during the ripeningperiod, and older vineyards.Like Fernández, Güemes is impressedby the Tempranillo from 2007 fromhis regular source (he is reluctant todisclose exactly where), and he’sexcited by the progress of this“barrel-eater”, which, when I spoketo him, was still maturing well after30 months in oak. He agrees thatTempranillo varies according to thevintage and that other varieties arenecessary to support it. He adds:“The 2008 vintage was the best ofthe decade overall, but it wasn’t easyto find good Tempranillo.”Güemes uses 15-10% of the variety inwines such as the bodega’s benchmarkwine, Tagonius Crianza. As heexplains, this proportion, along withFrench varieties, gives enough



Food BasicsThe Sweetness ofOlive Juice ........................52

Ahead of the Game.An UndervaluedDelicacy............................68

RecipesCésar Ráez. Game Meat ....82

Business WatchEquipo Navazos.Treasure Hunters ..............94

Colophon

Have a Spanish Break!Yoshiko Akehi fromTokyo .............................100

Regular Features

Lasting Impressions ........102

Ad Index ........................106

Spain Overseas ...............108

Exporters........................110

Credits............................112

Editorial ............................1

ColorsDO Vinos de MadridComes of Age ...................10

WinesIsland Wines I.Balearic Islands. A MagicalReprieve ...........................26

Culinary FarePosh Nosh. Suppliersto the Stars .......................38

SPAIN GOURMETOURMay-August 2010 No.79

CONT

ENTS

02 SUMARIO AF.qxd 23/3/10 20:25 Página 2

15

structure and good ageing ability. He’spleased with progress for Cabernet,Syrah and Merlot, which areincreasingly sourced from vineyardsestablished by the producer in recentyears, but he would also like to seemore later-ripening varieties permittedwithin the DO, such as CabernetFranc and Petit Verdot.Tempranillo was the first variety thatformer pilot-turned-winemaker CarlosGosálbez planted when he started toplant vineyards in 1992, some of thehighest in the area, reaching 800 m(2,624 ft) at Pozuelo del Rey. CabernetSauvignon vines followed, and morerecently Syrah and Merlot, all grownorganically. He originally sold thegrapes from his vineyards beforelaunching his own wines with the2000 vintage.He says: “The vines have to work hardhere in the stony soil, where there’slittle water and poor nutrients. Theair is fresher than at lower altitudesand the wide diurnal temperature

range favors phenolic synthesis.”Tempranillo clearly defines thestructured, concentrated style of hiswines, including the Qubél range,but, as he explains, alternativevarieties are needed to compensatefor Tempranillo’s weak acidity,especially in a year like 2009.

InternationalinfluenceOther newcomers in Arganda havemoved in a different direction, andthis makes the Madrid wine sceneboth unpredictable and interesting.Two examples of estates with a veryindependent philosophy are El Regajaland Señorío de Val Azul. While theyboth have Spanish owners—theGarcía-Pita and the Ayuso families,respectively—there is a stronginternational influence in boththeir wines.El Regajal, a wine widely availablein Madrid restaurants, comes from an

estate south of Arganda, in Aranjuez.Tempranillo originally dominated inthe plantings that were made 1998; itwas supported by the French trio ofCabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrahplanted on land sloping down to theTagus River. However, as the wine stylehas evolved under the direction ofJérôme Bougnaud, Cabernet (graftedonto some of the original Tempranillovines) has taken precedence with theaim of achieving “wines with goodfruit character but greater finesse andlength”. The famous French grapeaccounts for nearly half of the blendin the latest vintage, the 2008. This isundoubtedly one of the region’s mostsuccessful wines with a reputation forconsistently high quality, thoughperhaps it lacks a little in local identity.The vineyards at Señorío de Val Azul,complete with irrigation systems, wereplanted to Cabernet, Merlot and Syrahand a small amount of Tempranilloaround a decade ago. Its debut vintagewas the 2005, and the 2007 wines are

14

Syrah—and occasionally Garnacha.Olga Fernández is the oenologist atBodegas Licinia, a contemporary28 ha (69 acre) estate at Morata deTajuña planted to Tempranillo,Cabernet, Syrah and Merlot (the latterhas yet to come on stream). Thebodega’s first vintage was the 2006and, as in the case of many smallerproducers in the region, organicviticulture is practiced. The decisionto do this was fairly easy as theincidence of disease is low and thereforeopting for organic viticulture isrelatively inexpensive.Fernández joined this young projectafter working in the Tempranillo-dominated regions of DOCa Rioja andDO Ribera del Duero, so I was curiousto know about her experience with thevariety at this more southerly latitude.She says: “The climate is the mainchallenge for Tempranillo here. Forexample, in 2009 Tempranillo wasn’teasy with such high temperatures andlittle rainfall. We try to balance

potential alcohol levels, pH, acidityand polyphenols, and we do thisthrough viticultural management:pruning, yield, sun exposure, canopymanagement and irrigation. We needto do a lot of work in the vineyard.”She adds: “The climatic conditionsof the year are crucial for Tempranillo,and this has a direct influence. Thebest for me so far for Licinia is the2007; the Tempranillo from that yearis really good and interesting.”Fernández therefore chose to includea generous amount of Tempranillowhen she selected the blend for theimpressive Licinia 2007, a delightfullyfresh wine with harmonious fruit, oakand tannins, which is complementedby 40% of Syrah.Oenologist Luis Güemes has beenworking for six years with Tempranilloat Bodegas Tagonius, a medium-sizedproducer (300,000 bottles per year)at Tielmes. He says: “Tempranillo is anoble variety and it makes marvelouswines in Spain, especially in DOCa

Rioja and DO Ribera del Duero, buthere it is more challenging due to thewarmer climate.” He finds that analtitude of at least 700 m (2,296 ft)favors quality, fresh nighttimetemperatures during the ripeningperiod, and older vineyards.Like Fernández, Güemes is impressedby the Tempranillo from 2007 fromhis regular source (he is reluctant todisclose exactly where), and he’sexcited by the progress of this“barrel-eater”, which, when I spoketo him, was still maturing well after30 months in oak. He agrees thatTempranillo varies according to thevintage and that other varieties arenecessary to support it. He adds:“The 2008 vintage was the best ofthe decade overall, but it wasn’t easyto find good Tempranillo.”Güemes uses 15-10% of the variety inwines such as the bodega’s benchmarkwine, Tagonius Crianza. As heexplains, this proportion, along withFrench varieties, gives enough


EDIT

If you were asked to name Spain’s wine-producing regions, Madrid and the Balearic Islandswould probably come pretty low on your list.Yet, thanks to recent investment and the effortsof enthusiastic young winemakers, stylish, distinctive wines now bear the name of the capitaland its region. Meanwhile, the Balearics are rediscovering grape varieties from their distantpast, predating phylloxera by many centuries: the Romans are known to have thought highlyof the wine from these islands.Whereas the Romans were not, it seems, much given to hunting, Spain has always been huntingterritory. What started as a primordial quest for food evolved into a recreational and even touristactivity. These days it’s done with an eye to exports (of both fresh and processed meat).Olive oil is an integral, eternal element of the Spanish diet, and has been one of our exports sinceRoman times. Today, it’s being put to fresh uses by our pastry cooks and master chocolatiers.Sherry, another Spanish classic, also features in this issue. Our account of the Equipo Navazosproject is sure to whet your appetite for vinos de Jerez and their long and fascinating history.Spain’s top chefs rely on a whole network of suppliers for the prime quality ingredients thatprovide that exclusive edge that their clientele demands. In some cases, this has had the sideeffect of reinstating local products that had fallen into disuse and oblivion; in others, ofintroducing and acclimatizing exotic fruits and vegetables.All in all, hours of happy reading. Enjoy! And don’t forget to keep those comments andsuggestions coming!

Cathy [email protected]

01 EDITORIAL AF 6.qxd 27/4/10 08:57 Página 1

Editor-in-chiefCathy Boirac

Publication CoordinatorsAlmudena Martín RuedaMaría Moneo

Photographic ArchiveMabel Manso

Editorial SecretaryÁngela Castilla

Design and Art DirectionManuel Estrada Design

MapsJavier Belloso

Color SeparationsEspacio y Punto

Printed in SpainArtes Gráficas Palermo

[email protected]

D.L.: M.51647-2002

ISSN: 1696-1021

NIPO: 705-10-014-1


Information and PublisherICEXState Secretary for Trade andTourism, Ministry of Industry,Tourism and Trade.

www.icex.es

Subscription:Spain Gourmetour is apublication of the SpanishInstitute for Foreign Trade(ICEX) of the State Secretaryfor Trade and Tourism,Ministry of Industry, Tourismand Trade. The magazine isissued three times a year inEnglish, French German andSpanish, and is distributedfree of charge to tradeprofessionals. If you want tosubscribe to SpainGourmetour please contactthe Economic and CommercialOffices at the Embassies ofSpain (see list on page 108).

The opinions expressed bythe authors of the articles arenot necessarily shared by theSpanish Institute for ForeignTrade (ICEX), which cannot beheld responsible for anyomissions or error in the text.

2010 Le Cordon Bleu World FoodMedia Awards. Best Food Magazine17

coming on stream this year. DaniJiménez-Landi, consultant oenologistalong with Belarmino Fernández andAlfonso Chacón, is still refining withmeticulous detail the style of thetwo wines, Señorío de Val Azul andFabio, especially in terms of the oakinfluence, with the aim of offeringa fresh wine style from the grapevarieties grown on the estate. Heretoo the philosophy of the blend isvital, and Syrah is proving to be thebest-performing variety so far.In the neighboring sub-zone ofNavalcarnero, Tempranillo keeps alow profile while Garnacha is widelyplanted. Garnacha has been thetraditional grape of choice for roséwines in this area. However, there isone notable exception: Divo, the topwine from the family-run BodegasRicardo Benito, located in the townof Navalcarnero. Made entirely fromTempranillo by Fernando Benito, thiswine is a good example of what canbe achieved from old Tempranillovines in the region.The grapes for Divo come from oneestate and from 65-year-old ungraftedvines. A meticulous selection of thefruit takes place both in the vineyardand on arrival at the bodega before thebunches of grapes are destemmed byhand. Divo is only produced when thewine meets certain quality credentials.The latest vintage, the 2006, followsthe 1999, 2000 and 2002. It hasperfumed red fruit, a firm yet eleganttannic backbone, great length and afine structure that suggests goodageing potential. This aptly-named

wine is undoubtedly one of theregion’s best. Will Benito make Divofrom the 2007, 2008 or even the2009 vintages? He remains somewhatsecretive at this point: “I hope so.Every year we make a wine, but itis only offered to customers if weachieve perfection,” he says.Meanwhile Syrah is the grape ofchoice at the El Rincón estate, alsolocated in the Navalcarnero sub-zone.

The variety was selected as the bestcandidate for the siliceous soils (thelocation of the estate is close to theborder with the San Martín area, wherethis soil type is more typical), and ahigh-tech irrigation system ensuresthat the vines get the water that theyneed during the typically dry, hotsummer there. Almost a decade onfrom its first vintage, El Rincón Syrahoffers a very approachable style with

WINES

Fernando Benito, Bodegas Ricardo Benito


17




WINES



18

supple, rich, spicy dark fruit. It’sa wine of great character.Another bodega worth noting isVinos Jeromín, located at Villarejode Salvanés, again in the Argandasub-zone, and now run by fourthgeneration Gregorio and ManuelMartínez Chacón. This bodegaproduces a remarkably wide selectionof wines—red, rosé and white, andmeeting various price points—buttheir underlying philosophy is tochampion Tempranillo, Garnachaand Malvar. Having increased theirexport sales by 15% in 2009, theymust be doing something right.Traditional aspects can be seen at the

bodega, such as the use of 50-year-oldearthenware tinajas (jars traditionallyused for wine production), now withtemperature control, which are usedalongside cement and stainless steeltanks, giving wines local character.However, the two brothers are alsovery forward-looking in their approach.They identified the potential of old-vine Garnacha from San Martín forwines such as the characterful GregoGarnacha Centenaria before otherbodegas became interested in the area.Their barrel-fermented Puerta del SolMalvar is also undoubtedly one of theregion’s most distinctive wines. Thewine is enhanced by stirring on the

lees to bring out the character ofthis local white variety in an elegant,medium-bodied, food-friendly style.Indeed, innovative oenologist ManuelMartínez Chacón is keen to offeralternative white wines with a stronglocal identity. This is another nameto look out for.

Renaissancein San MartínOne of the most exciting trends withinthe DO Vinos de Madrid in the lastcouple of years has been the appearanceof high-quality wines with an altogetherdifferent style from San Martín, thefurthest sub-zone from the city, in thesouthwest. The trend, based onrejuvenating old Garnacha vineyards(and, to a lesser extent, the local whiteAlbillo grape), is being driven by agroup of young, dynamic winemakers,and it may be happening in the nickof time to avoid the valuable wineheritage being lost in this area.Firstly let’s take a look at some of

DO VINOS DE MADRID

Gregorio Martínez, Vinos Jeromín


21

the key features that make this areadifferent to Navalcarnero and Argandaand give the region’s wines theirdistinctive character. Here the Atlanticinfluence is stronger and climate isfresher, rainfall is more generous andthe landscape becomes far moremountainous and dramatic—theSierra de Guadarrama provides animpressive visual backdrop.The vegetation of San Martín isdifferent and more abundant. Theflatter areas, where the soils tend tobe sandy, feature the evergreen holmoak, stone pine and arable crops,while the higher areas feature rocky,granitic soils and the scenery is adelightful mix of chestnut trees, olivetrees and others crops such as figs,wild cherries and quince.The vines here are mostly 40 yearsold or significantly older, and thetraditional dry-farmed en vaso (bushvine) is most commonly found.Tending these vines is not generally

a full-time occupation for mostlocal growers, and often the youngergeneration is reluctant to take overfamily vineyards. Fortunately, a groupof newcomers with the financialbacking of the owners of theirrespective bodegas are preparedto extract the potential of the area’sold vineyards.Elena Arribas Fernández, generalmanager of the DO Vinos de MadridRegulatory Council, says: “The newbodegas in San Martín are carefullyplanning how to make good wine.They don’t have tradition, but theybring a serious and professionalapproach, commercial know-how,respect for the area’s heritage, andnew techniques. This is a verypositive change for the area.”On my recent visit I met threeoenologists who are driving thetrend: Isabel Galindo Espi of Viñedosde San Martín, Marc Isart Pinos ofBodegas Bernabeleva and Fernando

García Alonso of Bodega Marañones.All three are recuperating oldGarnacha vineyards.Viñedos de San Martín, ownedby Enate (DO Somontano, SpainGourmetour No. 73), has recentlylaunched its first wine, Las MoradasInitio 05, from 19 ha (47 acres) ofvineyards planted mostly to Garnachavines with some Cabernet and Syrah.Most of the Garnacha vines are over80 years old. “We’re trying to capturethe tradition and potential of Garnachato make good wines, like in the past,”says Isabel Galindo, who has workedin the region since 2002. She hasachieved a wine with great depth offlavor and elegant black fruit, supportedby a hint of minerality. It’s an impressivedebut, but she seems determined tohone the style focusing exclusively onGarnacha to achieve a lighter wine. Asneak preview of her 2007 wines, madeonly from Garnacha, suggests that she’ssucceeding in her aim.

Isabel Galindo, Viñedos de San Martín


22 23

Two other newcomers are also focusingon Garnacha, as well as the localAlbillo grape. Marc Isart Pinosjoined Bernabeleva in July 2007 todevelop a range of high-quality winesfrom vineyards belonging to theAlvarez-Villamil family, located nearthe Peña Guisando mountain. Hehas divided the 25 ha (62 acre)vineyard into sections according tofactors such as ripening times, soilsand orientation, and he has alsoplanted 5 ha (12 acres) of new vines.As we tour the vineyard, Isart Pinosshows me the ancient vines thatprovide grapes for the NavaherrerosGarnacha and the three site-specificwines: Carril del Rey, Arroyo delTórtolas and Viña Bonita. Many otherherbs and plants have also found ahome here, along with 300-year-oldolive trees. “The environment isreflected in the wines; they are abit rustic,” says Isart Pinos. I haveto agree, and I think that this is partof their charm. They are wines withgreat personality, remarkably freshred fruit and fine tannins.Bernabeleva hasn’t stopped atGarnacha. Cantocuerdas Albillo,fermented and aged in Austrian oakcasks, is one of new high-qualitywines from this local white grape,and he also makes a small amountof late-harvest Moscatel de granomenudo. This passionate winemakeris unlikely to stand still for long; he is

DO VINOS DE MADRID

• The wine: Qubél Nature(Tempranillo, Cabernet and Syrah),Bodega Gosálbez Orti. Oenologist:Carlos Gozálbez.

By chef Segundo Alonso at La Palomarestaurant: Free range pigeon stuffedwith foie gras and morels, roasted in saltand served with three purées: fig, celeryand apple, and a red pepper, redcurrantand red wine sauce (Pichón de caseríorelleno de foie y colmenillas asado en salgorda con guarnición de tres purés, dehigos, apio y manzana y salsa depimienta roja, grosella y vino tinto).

• The wine: El Rincón SyrahPagos de Familia Marqués de Griñón.Oenologist: Julio Mourelle.

By chef Fernando Pérez Arellano atZaranda Restaurante (one Michelin star):Carpaccio of cured and smoked beefwith watercress, parmesan purée andpine nut vinaigrette (Carpaccio deternera curada y ahumada con berros,crema parmesano y vinagreta depiñones).

• The wine: Tagonius Crianza(Tempranillo, Cabernet, Syrah andMerlot), Bodegas Tagonius. Oenologist:Luis Güemes.

By chef Ángel García at Lavinia wineshop and restaurant: Catalan sausagewith white mongete beans (Butifarra depayes con mongetes).

• The wine: Caminode Navaherreros GarnachaBodega y Viñedos Bernabeleva.Oenologist: Marc Isart Pinos.

By chef Jorge Trifón at El Fogón deTrifón: Ox tail braised in red wine (Rabode Toro con cencibel).

• The wine: Treintamil Maravedíes(Garnacha and Syrah), BodegaMarañones. Oenologist: FernandoGarcía Alonso.

By chef Txema Larrañaga at Txirimirirestaurant: Glazed beef cheek served overtruffle potato purée garnished with slices ofcandied orange and rosemary flowers(Carrillera de ternera, glaseada, sobrecrema de patata trufada, con gajos denaranja confitada y flores de romero).

Eight Food and WinePairing Suggestions

• The wine: Licinia(Tempranillo and Syrah), Bodegas Licinia.Oenologist: Olga Fernández.

By chef José Luis Martínez at ComplejoLa Cigueña (near Chinchón): MarinatedIberico pork cheek infused with thymeand yuzu fruit (Escabeche de carrillerade cerdo ibérico con aroma de tomillo yyuzu).

• The wine: Manu Vino de Autor Crianza(a blend of the best red grapes of thevintage), Vinos Jeromín. Oenologist:Manuel Martinez Chacón.

By chef Mario Sandoval at Coque (oneMichelin star) in Humanes: Seasonal wildmushrooms and stuffed red partridgesmoked over oak embers (Guiso desetas de temporada con perdiz rojaestofada y ahumada con leña de encina).

• The wine: El RegajalSelección Especial(Cabernet, Syrah, Tempranilloand Merlot). Oenologist: JérômeBougnaud.

By chefs Armando and Fernandodel Cerro at Casa José (one Michelinstar) in Aranjuez: Spicy artichokeswith a truffle sauce and crispy pig’sear (Alcachofas picantes con salsade trufa y oreja crujiente).

Some of Madrid’s best-known chefssuggest dishes to accompany aselection of the region’s finest wines.

In Madrid city: In Madrid region:


25

also involved in a project with GarcíaAlonso and Jiménez-Landi to makea wine called Las Umbrías from ahigh-altitude vineyard in San Martín.

of the trio, but it has got off to a flyingstart with four wines from the 2008vintage: Picarana Albillo, TreintamilMaravedíes (Garnacha/Syrah) and twosite-specific Garnacha wines: Labrosand Peña Caballera. Fernando GarcíaAlonso wants to show the truecharacter of Albillo as a solo act, andhe believes that the variety’s tendencyto have weak acidity can becompensated by aspects such asolder vines, vineyards situated at highaltitude, and soil type (granite in thecase of the Picarana wine). The wine isstirred on the lees and aged in Frenchoak for around nine months and theoak complements the wine perfectly.This is an irresistible, mouth-watering

wine and, as we agree, perhapssimilar in character to a good CheninBlanc wine.Bodega Ecológica Luis Saavedra,another reputable producer in SanMartín, adds a small amount ofMoscatel de grano menudo to itsCorucho Albillo blend, giving thewine more weight and an attractivefruit profile. The bodega’s CoruchoGarnacha, with just the right balancebetween oak and rich forest fruitflavors, is also worth seeking out. Oneof the bodega’s new developmentsfor 2010 is a kosher wine.Finally, and as in the case of Argandaand Navalcarnero, you can always finda bodega that does things completelydifferently. Bodegas Nueva Valverdeis an immaculate contemporary estatenear Villa del Prado in the foothillsof the Gredos Mountains. The fullyirrigated vineyard, which features

sandy soils, is planted mostlyto Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon andMerlot. There is also some Tempranilloand Garnacha, the latter planted beforethe current owners established thevineyard. Two wines are produced:the very approachable, youthfulTejoneras Alta Selección, a blendof all the grapes grown on the estate,and 750, a more sophisticated, intensewine made from Merlot, Cabernetand Syrah and a good candidatefor the cellar.

Patricia Langton is an independentjournalist specializing in Spanish wines.Her work has appeared in a number ofpublications including Decanter, TheGuardian, The Drinks Business,Harpers Wine & Spirit and Off LicenceNews. She is also the co-author of 500White Wines (Sellers Pub Inc.).

WINES

24

Facts and Stats

requested to join the DO. Thiswould add a fourth sub-zone. Theinclusion of this area seems likely,especially if those applying forinclusion prove that they cancontribute wines of quality andcharacter to the DO.

- Garnacha Tintorera andSauvignon Blanc (both alreadypresent in the region in smallquantities) are likely to be includedin the permitted selection of grapesin the next few years.

Sales and export markets:

Total sales in 2008: 3,650,000bottles (70% national market, 30%export)

Key export markets: Belgium,China, Denmark, Germany, Japan,Latvia, Lithuania, UK, USA

Further information:www.vinosdemadrid.es(English, German and Spanish).

(20.8 in). Soils: brownish-grey withsandstone and granite.Main quality grapes: Red: Garnachadominates. Tempranillo, Cabernet,Merlot and Syrah are also planted.White: Malvar and Airén.

· San Martín:2,261.18 ha (5,587 acres), altitudeof the vineyards 500-1,000 m(1,640-3,280 ft); average rainfall658 mm (26 in). Soils: sandstoneand distinctive granite soils in thehigher areas.Main quality grapes of the sub-region: Red: Garnacha dominates.Cabernet, Syrah and Merlot canalso be found. White: Albillo.Other white grapes found in DOVinos de Madrid: Viura, Parellada,Torrontés and Moscatel de granomenudo.

Changes on the horizon:

An area comprising 300 ha (741acres) and 7 villages including ElMolar to the north of Madrid have

Total vineyard area:

7,685.99 ha (18,922 acres), altitudeof the vineyards:500-1,000 m (1,640-3,280 ft)

Climate: Extreme continentalfeaturing cold winters and dry,hot summers.

There are three clearly definedsub-zones:

· Arganda:4,107.07 ha (10,148 acres),altitude of the vineyards: 500-800m (1,640-2,624 ft); average rainfall460 mm (18 in). Soils: brownish-grey with limestone and claypresent.Main quality grapes: Red:Tempranillo, Garnacha, CabernetSauvignon and Merlot. White:Malvar and Airén.

· Navalcarnero:1,317.74 ha (3,256 acres), altitude ofthe vineyards: 500-650 m (1,640-2,132 ft); average rainfall 529 mm


Bodega Marañones is the youngest


BALEARICA Magical Reprieve

Spain’s islands contain some of the county’s most variedterroir, lands rich in surprises to astonish even the most well-traveled of adventurers. There are four Mediterranean islands:Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. Their wines, for along time enjoyed only by curious tourists, ar e finallybeginning to claim the international recognition they deserve.

Islands

TextHarold Heckle/©ICEX

PhotosOscar Pipkin/©ICEX

04 BALEARIC ISLANDS AF.qxd 23/3/10 22:48 Página 26

28

Where mainland counterparts mayfind it hard to escape epithets of hotcountry, continental or high altitudewines, the islands offer dazzlingoenological diversity. There are winesfrom plots close to sea level whichbenefit from long, slow vegetativecycles. There are vines that harnesschilly mountainside slopes and thereare locations whose temperatures aremoderated by cooling seas breezes.For those who think Spanish wine isdominated by Tempranillo, an idealantidote is a visit to these magicalspecs of beauty set in an azure sea.The varieties cultivated on the islandshave ancient and historic names whichChristopher Columbus might haverecognized and aromas and flavorsthe Romans and Carthaginians werepossibly familiar with.

A rich anddramatic pastMediterranean island people have,throughout history, been exposed tomerchants and the wares they tradedor pirated. The grapevine arrived inSpain via seafarers and there isevidence that the Balearic Islands

were at the forefront of such imports.During a storm in the 4th century BC,a Carthaginian ship carrying amphoraesank off Majorca’s southern island ofCabrera. Another Punic ship bearingsouthern Italian and Sicilian amphoraewas shipwrecked off Figuera Cove.Roman naturalist and author Plinythe Elder (23-79 AD) comparedBalearic wines to the best producedin Italy. Their excellent reputation wasmaintained throughout threecenturies of Arab occupation (902-1229 AD) and confirmed by Aragon’sKing James I (1208-1276), who re-conquered Majorca and toasted histriumphal arrival.Wine lore’s deep roots can be tracedin oenological tales that havepermeated unwritten rondalles,traditional tales that have survivedfor centuries through constantstorytelling. One example relates howisland dwarfs delight in winemaking.A harvest festival in Binissalem, calledVermar, takes place each Septemberand includes a Battle of Grapes wherepeople throw bunches at each otheras others offer them to an effigy ofthe local holy virgin, Santa Maria deRobines, in a genuinely Bacchanalian

feast. On Majorca you can tell whenthe first young wine of the year isready by a pine branch hung bybodegas. In olden days, each househad a cellar and made its own wine.Many venerable houses retain theseevocative spaces.

Diversityin an idyllic settingMajorca, the largest island, is200 km (124 miles) offshore southof Barcelona and boasts 65 wineries,some very small. Binissalem, its mainDO, oversees 15 wineries harvesting621 ha (1,534 acres). Margarita Amat,of the Regulatory Council, helps runthings from an old converted girls’school. She talked about how Majorcawas devastated by phylloxera, whichalmost obliterated its then 30,000 ha(74,130 acres) of vineyards. Wine hadbeen the island’s financial mainstay,being sold to the French market,which was reeling from the collapseof its own production. “When theplague hit, it was a major disaster.Farmers had to start again virtuallyfrom zero,” said Margarita. “In 1891,the year it hit, Majorca exported

BALEARIC ISLANDS

04 BALEARIC ISLANDS AF_MAQUETA FRUTOS MAPA.qxd 24/03/10 8:35 Página 28

30 31

by Syrah in a wine that has softtannins and just enough acidity forsuccess. The winery’s most recognizedlabel, its Crianza, is nicknamed “FranjaRoja” (red band), a deep, smoky,velvety-palate red with 53% MantoNegro, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19%Tempranillo, 3% Callet, 2% Syrah and1% “others”, aged 10-12 months inUS oak. The name was not registeredin the 1930s, and when they came totry it in the 1940s, the then-Francodictatorship prohibited the use of rojo(red), José Luís said. “Only 10% ofwine sold on the island is Majorcan,57% is Riojan,” lamented José Luís.

Surprising antiquityThe village of Consell lies four minutesdrive east of Binissalem and is whereBodegas Ribas has been making winefor nearly 300 years. “Our family willcelebrate its third century of vinifyingfrom our 40 ha (100 acres) in 2011,”said winemaker Araceli Servera, whogained experience at Clos Mogadorand Erasmus in DOCa Priorat(Catalonia, northeast Spain) as wellas at Harlan Estate in Napa Valley andat Achaval Ferrer in Luján de Cuyo,Argentina. Ribas’s production is130,000 bottles, employing 300barriques. White Sió 2007 (the nameis the Majorcan diminutive forConcepción, Araceli’s grandmother)is made from old vine Prensal (40%),young Viognier (30%) and Chardonnay.The varieties are fermented and oakaged separately. Only 2,000 bottlesare produced annually. Subtle oakinesssurrounds citric notes and the Viognieris notable for its almost Rhône-like

presence. “A minority doesn’t likeyoung whites and prefers somethingmore substantial and complex. Thiswine is for them,” said Araceli. Not allwine is made to blockbuster standards.Around 300 island residents stop byevery week to buy table wine fromwhat look like fuel dispensing pumpsin the winery’s lobby. “It’s like fulfillingan ancient community commitment,”said Araceli.Ribas Negre 2008, Vino de la TierraIlles Balears, was made from table-selected, destalked grapes. Whole berryfermentation has promoted a joyouslyfruity nose from 25-year-old MantoNegro (50-60%), Syrah (30-35%) andthe rest Merlot with CabernetSauvignon. Araceli said Manto Negroin Majorca is like Garnacha in DOCaPriorat. “We’ve had up to 17% alcoholin tank,” she said. “We don’t dilute

WINES

50 million liters” she said. The

following years left plantations of

Moll and Callet on the brink of

extinction and incalculable numbers

of irreplaceable native varieties were

wiped out.

Legend has it that, in the ‘60s, waiters

lured ever-increasing numbers of

tourists to try local wines. Invariably

they would be made by José Luís

Ferrer (1908-1982), who founded

his eponymous winery in 1931. A

guided tour of the bodega with

grandsons José Luís and Sebastian

Roses opens one’s eyes to a glamorous

world. Grandson José Luís’s English

wife Sarah grew up in Majorca, where

her parents were friends of poet and

novelist Robert Graves (1895-1985).

On the walls are photographs of

Prince Rainier of Monaco visiting

in 1962 with Grace Kelly. There is

also a picture of legendary soprano

Maria Callas. “They were grandfather’s

friends,” José Luís explained, in

aristocratic English. Aristotle Onassis

was not present in the photos because

of a dispute with Rainier over the

ownership of the Monte Carlo Casino,

which the Greek shipping magnate

had controlled since 1956.

Annual production is 990 tons of

grapes, 70% from 92 ha (227 acres)

of own vineyards. “Around 700,000

bottles,” said José Luís. Once harvested

(some by machine), grapes are chilled

in a 20-ton capacity chamber before

hand selection. Around 20% of its

1,600 barrels are renewed annually

and include French Tronçais, Allier

and Vosges as well as Russian,

Romanian and even Mongolian oak.

Unusually, there are some Swiss-made

square barrels of American oak.

“Winemaker Ernesto Navas doesn't

like them, not because of the taste,

but because they're a problem to

clean,” said José Luís.

Wines feature Moll, Callet, Manto

Negro, Tempranillo and Syrah, while

work goes on to incorporate the

as-yet not legally-recognized native

Gargollassa (also Gorgollasa), which

has been retrieved from the brink

of extinction. Stony, ferruginous

vineyards convey tightly-knit mineral

nuances, José Luís said. D2UES 2008,

which combines Syrah with Callet,

is deep ruby and has beautifully

integrated aromas of sweet fruit

cocooned in clean oak after eight

months in barrel. Ripe berry fruit

from Callet (40%) is not overpowered

down like they do in California. Whatwe’ve got is what we've got.” It spent12 months in mainly new Frenchoak and a week after bottlingwas wonderfully combative andrumbustious on the palate.Ribas has been at the forefront oftrying to get official clearance to sellthe indigenous Gargollassa. “It wasMajorca’s predominant grape beforephylloxera and we’ve been workingon it for 10 years,” she said, admittingthat the bureaucracy involved has beencomplex and costly. The foreseeablebenefits are that the grape reaches fullharvest maturity in October yet neverexceeds 13 degrees, so it’s an idealblend for the power-packed MantoNegro, Araceli said.Masià Batle takes its name from itseponymous founder (Masià is Matthiasin Mallorquín, the local language)and is located in Santa María del Camí,5 km (3.1 miles) southeast of Consell.It harvests around 100 ha (247 acres),owned and rented, to produce800,000 liters of wine annually,making it the island’s largest producer.“One in every four bottles of qualitywine made in Majorca is vinified byus,” said Ramón Servalls, directorand co-owner, a fifth generation familymember. Only 20% of its wine is soldoutside the island, mainly in Germanyand Switzerland, but the list isgrowing, he said. “I never imaginedexporting to Hong Kong, but herewe are, and someday the UnitedStates will join the list too.”Ramón said he too was interested inGargollassa, as well in as the nativewhite Giró Ros variety. The curiouslylabeled 39°39’06”N, 02°46’22”E


18

supple, rich, spicy dark fruit. It’sa wine of great character.Another bodega worth noting isVinos Jeromín, located at Villarejode Salvanés, again in the Argandasub-zone, and now run by fourthgeneration Gregorio and ManuelMartínez Chacón. This bodegaproduces a remarkably wide selectionof wines—red, rosé and white, andmeeting various price points—buttheir underlying philosophy is tochampion Tempranillo, Garnachaand Malvar. Having increased theirexport sales by 15% in 2009, theymust be doing something right.Traditional aspects can be seen at the

bodega, such as the use of 50-year-oldearthenware tinajas (jars traditionallyused for wine production), now withtemperature control, which are usedalongside cement and stainless steeltanks, giving wines local character.However, the two brothers are alsovery forward-looking in their approach.They identified the potential of old-vine Garnacha from San Martín forwines such as the characterful GregoGarnacha Centenaria before otherbodegas became interested in the area.Their barrel-fermented Puerta del SolMalvar is also undoubtedly one of theregion’s most distinctive wines. Thewine is enhanced by stirring on the

lees to bring out the character ofthis local white variety in an elegant,medium-bodied, food-friendly style.Indeed, innovative oenologist ManuelMartínez Chacón is keen to offeralternative white wines with a stronglocal identity. This is another nameto look out for.

Renaissancein San MartínOne of the most exciting trends withinthe DO Vinos de Madrid in the lastcouple of years has been the appearanceof high-quality wines with an altogetherdifferent style from San Martín, thefurthest sub-zone from the city, in thesouthwest. The trend, based onrejuvenating old Garnacha vineyards(and, to a lesser extent, the local whiteAlbillo grape), is being driven by agroup of young, dynamic winemakers,and it may be happening in the nickof time to avoid the valuable wineheritage being lost in this area.Firstly let’s take a look at some of

DO VINOS DE MADRID

Gregorio Martínez, Vinos Jeromín


30 31

by Syrah in a wine that has softtannins and just enough acidity forsuccess. The winery’s most recognizedlabel, its Crianza, is nicknamed “FranjaRoja” (red band), a deep, smoky,velvety-palate red with 53% MantoNegro, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19%Tempranillo, 3% Callet, 2% Syrah and1% “others”, aged 10-12 months inUS oak. The name was not registeredin the 1930s, and when they came totry it in the 1940s, the then-Francodictatorship prohibited the use of rojo(red), José Luís said. “Only 10% ofwine sold on the island is Majorcan,57% is Riojan,” lamented José Luís.

Surprising antiquityThe village of Consell lies four minutesdrive east of Binissalem and is whereBodegas Ribas has been making winefor nearly 300 years. “Our family willcelebrate its third century of vinifyingfrom our 40 ha (100 acres) in 2011,”said winemaker Araceli Servera, whogained experience at Clos Mogadorand Erasmus in DOCa Priorat(Catalonia, northeast Spain) as wellas at Harlan Estate in Napa Valley andat Achaval Ferrer in Luján de Cuyo,Argentina. Ribas’s production is130,000 bottles, employing 300barriques. White Sió 2007 (the nameis the Majorcan diminutive forConcepción, Araceli’s grandmother)is made from old vine Prensal (40%),young Viognier (30%) and Chardonnay.The varieties are fermented and oakaged separately. Only 2,000 bottlesare produced annually. Subtle oakinesssurrounds citric notes and the Viognieris notable for its almost Rhône-like

presence. “A minority doesn’t likeyoung whites and prefers somethingmore substantial and complex. Thiswine is for them,” said Araceli. Not allwine is made to blockbuster standards.Around 300 island residents stop byevery week to buy table wine fromwhat look like fuel dispensing pumpsin the winery’s lobby. “It’s like fulfillingan ancient community commitment,”said Araceli.Ribas Negre 2008, Vino de la TierraIlles Balears, was made from table-selected, destalked grapes. Whole berryfermentation has promoted a joyouslyfruity nose from 25-year-old MantoNegro (50-60%), Syrah (30-35%) andthe rest Merlot with CabernetSauvignon. Araceli said Manto Negroin Majorca is like Garnacha in DOCaPriorat. “We’ve had up to 17% alcoholin tank,” she said. “We don’t dilute

WINES

50 million liters” she said. The

following years left plantations of

Moll and Callet on the brink of

extinction and incalculable numbers

of irreplaceable native varieties were

wiped out.

Legend has it that, in the ‘60s, waiters

lured ever-increasing numbers of

tourists to try local wines. Invariably

they would be made by José Luís

Ferrer (1908-1982), who founded

his eponymous winery in 1931. A

guided tour of the bodega with

grandsons José Luís and Sebastian

Roses opens one’s eyes to a glamorous

world. Grandson José Luís’s English

wife Sarah grew up in Majorca, where

her parents were friends of poet and

novelist Robert Graves (1895-1985).

On the walls are photographs of

Prince Rainier of Monaco visiting

in 1962 with Grace Kelly. There is

also a picture of legendary soprano

Maria Callas. “They were grandfather’s

friends,” José Luís explained, in

aristocratic English. Aristotle Onassis

was not present in the photos because

of a dispute with Rainier over the

ownership of the Monte Carlo Casino,

which the Greek shipping magnate

had controlled since 1956.

Annual production is 990 tons of

grapes, 70% from 92 ha (227 acres)

of own vineyards. “Around 700,000

bottles,” said José Luís. Once harvested

(some by machine), grapes are chilled

in a 20-ton capacity chamber before

hand selection. Around 20% of its

1,600 barrels are renewed annually

and include French Tronçais, Allier

and Vosges as well as Russian,

Romanian and even Mongolian oak.

Unusually, there are some Swiss-made

square barrels of American oak.

“Winemaker Ernesto Navas doesn't

like them, not because of the taste,

but because they're a problem to

clean,” said José Luís.

Wines feature Moll, Callet, Manto

Negro, Tempranillo and Syrah, while

work goes on to incorporate the

as-yet not legally-recognized native

Gargollassa (also Gorgollasa), which

has been retrieved from the brink

of extinction. Stony, ferruginous

vineyards convey tightly-knit mineral

nuances, José Luís said. D2UES 2008,

which combines Syrah with Callet,

is deep ruby and has beautifully

integrated aromas of sweet fruit

cocooned in clean oak after eight

months in barrel. Ripe berry fruit

from Callet (40%) is not overpowered

down like they do in California. Whatwe’ve got is what we've got.” It spent12 months in mainly new Frenchoak and a week after bottlingwas wonderfully combative andrumbustious on the palate.Ribas has been at the forefront oftrying to get official clearance to sellthe indigenous Gargollassa. “It wasMajorca’s predominant grape beforephylloxera and we’ve been workingon it for 10 years,” she said, admittingthat the bureaucracy involved has beencomplex and costly. The foreseeablebenefits are that the grape reaches fullharvest maturity in October yet neverexceeds 13 degrees, so it’s an idealblend for the power-packed MantoNegro, Araceli said.Masià Batle takes its name from itseponymous founder (Masià is Matthiasin Mallorquín, the local language)and is located in Santa María del Camí,5 km (3.1 miles) southeast of Consell.It harvests around 100 ha (247 acres),owned and rented, to produce800,000 liters of wine annually,making it the island’s largest producer.“One in every four bottles of qualitywine made in Majorca is vinified byus,” said Ramón Servalls, directorand co-owner, a fifth generation familymember. Only 20% of its wine is soldoutside the island, mainly in Germanyand Switzerland, but the list isgrowing, he said. “I never imaginedexporting to Hong Kong, but herewe are, and someday the UnitedStates will join the list too.”Ramón said he too was interested inGargollassa, as well in as the nativewhite Giró Ros variety. The curiouslylabeled 39°39’06”N, 02°46’22”E


17




WINES



32

Son Caló Blanc 2009 is 100% Prensal

and Pilar says that freshness is what

she aims for, allowing the variety to

speak for itself. Its aroma conveys

nuances of ripe pear and fresh lychees;

on the palate it’s very exciting and

fruit-driven, with 3 g (0.1 oz) of

residual sugar. Ses Ferritges 2006

(vineyard’s name) is 45% Callet, 25%

Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% each

Merlot and Syrah. “I work the

Cabernet’s more aggressive tannins

into the elegance of Merlot and the

texture of Syrah so as to build up the

Callet’s aroma,” said Pilar. It exudes

a rich array of fruit aromas mirroring

the diversity of grapes and is fresh and

vibrant in the mouth, with a long

finish. Pilar’s love of Merlot is clear

in her varietal Aía 2007 (from her

mother’s name, Ana María), which

grew on stony ferruginous clay soils.

Deep garnet in color, it is bright,mineral Merlot in character, a rarething in Spain. Its well-roundedmouthfeel is held together with soft,elegant tannins.

Felanitx, the darksoul of CalletIt’s an unlikely setting for a significantbirth. Yet, when a group of friendsfirst set out hell-bent on proving tothemselves and the world that Calletwas a grape worthy of respect, the onlyspace they could afford was a propertycalled Son Burguera, near the easternvillage of Felanitx, which only hada cow shed available. Fifteen yearslater they produce 220,000 bottlesand cultivate around 150 small plotsall around them. “We began rentinggarden plots from old folk who grew

vines set among fruit trees,” said

Miquel Ángel Cerdà i Capó, the

powerhouse behind ÀN, better known

as Ànima Negra. “Our idea was to find

the balance of our vineyards with as

little intervention as possible,” he said.

Initially they vinified in former milk

tanks. “Now we’re removing stainless

steel to revert to concrete because we

find it more stable and less energy

intensive,” Miquel said.

ÀN/2 2007 is 60% Callet, 20% Manto

Negro, 5% Fogoneu with Monastrell,

Syrah and Cabernet making up the

rest. Pere Obrador, a partner in the

venture, said Manto Negro is

oxidative, so they use Syrah to lend

“protection and volume”. Beneath its

wood-inspired aromas are hints of

warm fruit, including unusual nuances

of banana. “In the past we got a bit

obsessed with concentration and

33

Reserva Privada 200 is a new project

made of 60% Manto Negro, 30%

Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Callet,

said Ramón. While 90% of its barrels

are French oak, Ramón said the winery

is moving away from wood. The wine,

which pinpoints the geographic

location of its vineyard, is aromatically

multi-layered with hints of smokiness.

Winemaker Ramón Vaca plays with

different levels of barrel toasting.

The bodega expanded its market

presence in 2007 with the purchase

of Santa Catarina, the property of a

Swedish man whose winery was in

the mountains but whose vineyards

were adjacent to Masià Batle. This

second label is situated within the

value-for-money spectrum and its

products are sold as Vino de la Tierra

Illes Baleares with the knowledgeable

Lena-Luiza Hertle in charge.

DO Pla i Llevant,in the eastNestled deep within the village ofPetra, 50 km (31 miles) east of thecapital, Palma, lies the Miquel Oliverwinery, dating from 1864. Amongthe 400 barriques made of wood fromdiverse forests by 17 different coopers,you can find an ancient 25,000-literchestnut container called a cubell,similar to those once used all overthe island.Fourth generation winemaker PilarOliver delights in ingenious woodinterplay. Her Xperiment label goesinto new wood and the 2008 wasaged in barriques from four forestsand harvested from five vineyards inwhich she cultivates 32- to 48-year-oldCallet. “French oak is the mostrespectful with this variety,” Pilar said.

Xperiment 2007 (100% Callet) is

superbly complex, with layered

aromatic nuances sustained by finely

integrated oak. Its fleshy monovarietal

fruit is accompanied by balanced

acidity and soft tannins. But it was

with whites that she first cut her teeth.

Original Muscat 2009 is made from

Muscatel of Alexandria and a clone

of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains from

Frontignan in southern France, whose

vines were brought over from Alsace,

where Pilar did her practice. It is quite

Alsatian in aromatic character, with

a light and crisply dry mouthfeel that

in 1993 earned it a distinction in a

national contest. “It gave people a

first insight into the fact that this

island makes great wine,” said Pilar.

That wine led the bodega to buy the

first winemaking stainless steel on

the island.


32















































33













































the island.


35

leathery and tobacco aromas escortedby firm acidity and tannins assaultthe senses. Pere said the malolacticfermentation almost combined withthe tumultuous fermentation.“Sometimes it all happens before we’vefinished pressing the wine,” he said,adding proudly that it is now availablein 40 countries. “We visit eachimporter every year and spend fourmonths traveling,” he said.Up a secluded path near Felanitx is4 Kilos Vinícola, a small winery builtby partners Françesc Grimalt andSergio Caballero on what once wasa goat farm. Their passion forlocally-grown Callet, Fogoneu andManto Negro is palpable as caretakerMonica Cubel drives past theAlbocasser vineyard, planted with30-year-old vines on call vermell (thename given in Majorca to soils stainedred by iron oxide) clay soils. Nitrogen-fixing legumes are planted betweenneat rows to enrich poor soils. But it isat nearby Petita de Son Nadal vineyardthat their non-intervention philosophyis visible, as older vines vie with grass

and little yellow vinagrelle flowers forsubsistence. “It rained a lot just beforeharvest and we were the only onesthat could pick grapes without sinkingup to our knees,” said Monica.4 Kilos 2007 exudes an impressive,leathery perfumed nose derivedfrom 40% Callet and Fogoneubolstered by 10% Merlot and 50%of a rather mute, untypical Cabernetin need of bottle age. Françesc usesbarrels from just three coopers: a500-liter Vernou tonne and Frenchand American oak barriques byDemptos and François Frères. A MantoNegro 500-liter tank sample intendedfor 4 Kilos is dark, sultry and stillshallow after four months in oak.Monastrell destined for the same blendis meaty, wild and utterly attractivedespite its as-yet untutored tannins.You can see why a winemaker wouldwant to include it. Callet and anunusually Rhône-like Syrah 2009aimed at second label 12 Volts arefresh and full of sweet fruit. The finalblend includes Cabernet and is verywell structured.

WINES

found the balance of our wines wasnot making us happy,” acknowledgedMiquel. He said they were now tryingto make a more balanced wine, evenif it had less concentration. “To beginwith, we had to buy in a lot of grapes,and their condition was never quiteright,” said Miquel.ÀN 2006 is 100% Callet. Miquelsaid grapes are selected manually andthen protected with dry ice to avoidoxidation. “We do a pre-fermentativemaceration of three to four days,then raise the temperature forfermentation,” said Pere. Aromas ofcherries surrounded by wood lead tosweet fruit protected by gentle acidityand soft tannins. Miquel explainedthat there are three “extreme”vineyards which have always beenvinified separately. In 15 years theyhave bottled 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005and possibly there will be a 2007, saidMiquel. This wine is called Son Negre,after the area where the vineyardsare found. Son Negre 2005 is 100%Callet that spent 17 months in oak.Huge amounts of fruit surrounded by


37

winemaker Xavier Figerola buys inold vine Fogoneu and Monastrell toproduce around 8,000 bottles of magic.Cap de Barbaria 2007 is a coupage of allthese varieties. The Monastrell andFogoneu are harvested at the same timeand vinified together. The rest arepressed and fermented separately beforebeing oak aged for a year. Its garnetcolor is highlighted by flashes of ruby.On the palate it is all sweet, juicy fruitredolent of plums and figs with analmost salty, savory mouthfeel that issmooth and almost transparently light.Still, the Balearic Islands hold onefinal surprise. Josep Lluis Joan, whopromotes Ibiza’s quality wines and

agri-food segment, informed me thatColumbus was born on Formentera,no less. The idea is not so fanciful.Dr. Estelle Irizarry of GeorgetownUniversity in Washington DC haspublished research that makes acompelling case in The DNA of theWritings of Columbus (EdicionesPuerto, 2009). She argues that thegreat adventurer’s manuscripts clearlydemonstrate he spoke Ibicenco. Shouldshe be right, there is something almostpoetically ironic about how, out of allEurope’s ancient vinegrowing lands,phylloxera, perhaps the most unwantedconsequence of Columbus’s discoveries,spared this tiny island, his birthplace.

Harold Heckle is a correspondent forthe Associated Press. Since he first visitedSpain as a student he has kept himselfconnected with Spanish gastronomicculture. On this topic, he has contributedto the BBC and magazines such asDecanter, Wine Magazine, andWine & Spirits.

36

A sandy,phylloxera-freeparadiseSome of the most glorious sandybeaches in Europe are found on thetiny, windswept island of Formentera,where hardy locals speak a form ofCatalan called Ibicenco inherited fromthe adjacent island of Ibiza. XavierÁlvarez, foreman of BodegasTerraMoll, said it produces 30,000bottles annually, with old blockMonastrell as the jewel in the crown.That grape was brought to the islandin the 12th century by Augustinianmonks who founded the As Monastirmonastery. The bodega owns 4 ha

(9.8 acres) of 30- to 50-year-oldMonastrell in its 11 ha (27 acres) ofvineyard holding where it also growsMerlot, Cabernet Sauvignon,Viognier, Malvasía, Muscatel ofAlexandria, Moll and someexperimental Garnacha Blanca.Another 4 ha (9.8 acres) are rented.Formentera is a low island subjectedto winds like the Tramontana, whichmake it a humid environment proneto fungal attacks. However, fig treesand Monastrell vines have overcenturies adapted well and rarelyrequire treatment, Xavier said. Oldvines produce 300-700 g (10-25 oz)per plant, just enough for 1,000

bottles. Formentera is exceptionalin that phylloxera never infested theisland’s sandy soils and hence vineshere can grow ungrafted, unlikemost of the rest of the world. Thisparadise island is free of the Americanvine-withering louse.TerraMoll’s winemaker, Jose Abalde,uses a selection table to fill the50,000-liter bodega at Can Costa.The 61 barriques are mainly Allier,with some Hungarian oak. Moll in thename is not a reference to the islands’native white grape, but, rather, to theowners. A tank sample of Primus, abarrique-fermented Viognier-Malvasíablend subjected to three months ofbattonage, was richly endowed withfruity, herbal nuances including dill,with wood lurking in the background.Es Monastir 2007 from ungrafted vines(800 bottles) is dark ruby in color andboasts wild Monastrell aromas despitea year in oak. For its huge aromaticsize, with rosemary- and thyme-infused fruit, it is remarkably polishedon the palate with a good structurethat is improving with age. TerraMoll2004, 52% Merlot, 45% Cabernet and3% Monastrell, is brick red and hasa mature Barolo-like nose. Themouthfeel is mature but pleasantlyheld together by fine tannins andrefreshing acidity.

Cap de Barbaria: arural idyll surpriseThis rural hotel and winery has causeda sensation. Its 2.5 ha (6.1 acres) ofCabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wereplanted at San Ferran in 2000, and

BALEARIC ISLANDS

Websites

· www.illesbalearsqualitat.catOfficial site of the BalearicDepartment for Agriculture andFisheries, with comprehensiveinformation about Balearic Islandagri-food quality seals and DOsfor wines, oils, cheese and otherproducts. It also includesinformation on local gastronomyand a list of agrotourist routesand gastronomy-related touristinformation. (Catalan, English,French, German, Italian, Spanish)

· www.binissalemdo.comDO Binissalem. (Catalan, English,Spanish)

· www.plaillevantmallorca.esDO Pla I Llevant. (Catalan, English,German, Spanish)


MAY-AUGUST 2010 SPAIN GOURMETOUR 3938 MAY-AUGUST 2010 SPAIN GOURMETOUR

SUPPLIERSto the Stars

Posh NoshSpain’s star chefs have made a trademark feature of cooking with superlatively goodprime ingredients. They source them from small-scale suppliers—farmers with theknack of growing tiny but perfect peas, the market’s finest oranges, the only caviarin Europe with organic credentials—whose products are of the exquisite quality thathaute cuisine demands and for which its exponents are prepared to pay.

Text Raquel Castillo/©ICEX Translation Hawys Pritchard/©ICEX Photos Juan Manuel Sanz/©ICEX

05 POSH NOSH AF.qxd 17/3/10 22:01 Página 38

40

A chef is only as good as hisingredients. A truism, perhaps, buttalk to any top-of-the-range chef inSpain today and that message is sureto crop up in some form or another.We expect haute cuisine to use thebest of everything, but there’s more toit than that: well-sourced ingredientsalso give a distinctive edge. To serveone’s customers vegetables, fish, meatand special delicacies that few otherscan is to serve them exclusivity. Thatis why some of these chefs are almostobsessional in their pursuit of thefreshest produce with tastes and smellsstill vibrantly intact, and hard-to-getingredients that come only in smallquantities, fine foods in the true senseof the term. And that is why the fieldleaders look beyond the usual channelsfor their sources of supply.“The local produce around here isgood,” declares Rodrigo de la Calle,proprietor-chef of De la Callerestaurant in Aranjuez (south ofMadrid, Spain’s capital). “I can geteverything I need from the villageand the surrounding area becauseI’m happy with the quality.” De laCalle, who was named RevelationChef at the 2009 edition of MadridFusión (the prestigious internationalgastronomic fair held in Madrid eachyear), stocks up part of his larder withthe vegetables he buys from the smallfarmers of Aranjuez, an area renownedfor fresh produce grown on the fertileland along the Tagus River. “I order aparticular vegetable from the farmer,

he picks it, and half an hour later it’sbeing eaten in the restaurant. Nowthat’s real luxury.”Prime ingredients count for a lot inDe la Calle’s scale of values: he hasacquired quite a reputation as anexponent of gastrobotanics (asubdivision of haute cuisine thatchampions new vegetable speciesand others rescued from obscurity,having long since been dropped bymainstream commercial sources ofsupply). His use of exotica such asAustralian finger lime, ice plant anddragon fruit (an orange-like citrusfruit), which has earned him ravereviews, stems from years of work andresearch conducted in collaborationwith biologist Santiago Orts, managerof El Huerto de Elche.El Huerto de Elche is a family firmoriginally set up to run a decorativepalm nursery in Elche (Alicante, onSpain’s east coast). Ten years ago, theowners changed tack and startedproducing dates. This proved to betricky (dates are not easy to grow

north of the equator because theyneed a lot of sun in summer, whichis when they ripen), and it took fiveyears of research to produce the firstcrop of fresh dates in 2003. SantiagoOrts explains: “The dates that thepublic is familiar with have beencandied in sugar so they withstandstorage and distribution. Fresh dates,however, which are only available infall, have much more aroma, flavorand texture.” These clear candidatesfor gastrobotanical adoption weretaken up by Rodrigo de la Calle, whodeveloped their culinary potential andhas been using them in various dishesever since. This positive response fromDe la Calle and others, includingMartín Berasategui (his 3-Michelin-starrestaurant is in Lasarte, Guipúzcoa,northern Spain), spurred Orts on togrow new products, seeking outunfamiliar species with the sort ofgastronomic appeal that spells addedvalue. Two years later, he harvestedhis first exotic citrus fruits: for themost part these were Mediterraneanspecies that had been marginalizedby commercial growers to the pointof virtual disappearance. These days,he grows up to 14 different types,(orange-like calamondins, limequats,citron, fingered citron, dragon fruit…)the most famous of which is citruscaviar—an extraordinary fruitcomposed not of the usual segmentsbut, rather, of little acidic spheres thatburst open in the mouth—.“Each ofthem has something special about it:

GOURMET SUPPLIERS


42

GOURMET SUPPLIERS

43

the juice, the rind, the pith... And wealso deal in citrus leaves and flowers,both of which lend sweet, bitter oracidic nuances to a dish.”El Huerto de Elche’s latest contributionto the culinary vegetable repertoire isdesert greens—plants that grow wildin the area around Elche—. These arehighly seasonal plants (they are grownfor only three to four months of theyear, between spring and summer).Ice plant, glacier lettuce and landalgae are succulent plants that fixsalts from the soil and absorb theminto their tissues, which accounts fortheir crunchy texture and verydistinctive salty taste. They are sucha recent crop that their gastronomicpotential is as yet largely untapped:for the moment, only De la Calleand Ferran Adrià (of 3-Michelin-starelBulli restaurant in Roses, Girona,northeastern Spain; Spain GourmetourNo. 66) have taken them on board.The same could notbe said of the amazing citrus fruitscurrently broadening the gastronomichorizons of diners at El Celler deCan Roca (Girona, 3 Michelin stars),Martín Berasategui, Mugaritz(Rentería, Guipúzcoa, 2 Michelinstars) and Sant Pau (San Pol de Mar,Barcelona, 3 Michelin stars, SpainGourmetour No. 62). “Though theyare completely unfamiliar to us,these plants make for good eating.They were introduced by the Arabsfor culinary use, but had long sincebeen allowed to revert to the wild andbeen absorbed into the landscape. Allwe had to do was retrieve them andbring them back into use as in oldentimes,” explains Orts.

Precious peasEl Huerto de Elche shares its customerportfolio with Aroa, one of Spain’sbest-known gourmet sources, supplierto such stars of Basque gastronomyas Martín Berasategui, Juan MariArzak, Pedro Subijana (SpainGourmetour No. 63) and AndoniAduriz (Spain Gourmetour No. 65).Like Orts, this Basque company alsogrows vegetables, albeit of a moreconventional kind.Aroa is based in Guetaria, Guipúzcoa(northern Spain), where it has 3,000sq m (32,291 sq ft) of greenhouses

and 5 ha (12 acres) of land plantedwith crops. Its star product is theguisante de lágrima (teardrop pea),a delicacy on which proprietor JaimeBurgaña lavishes TLC. Over the years,he has succeeded in producing his ownseed stock, perfectly acclimatized tothis specific terrain. Aroa also sellsbroad bean “petals” (tiny beans withtheir skins removed), leeks, babychard, baby carrots, tomatoes, peppers,canned and bottled vegetables and allsorts of flowers, shoots and leaveswhich are marketed as mesclun aimedat the restaurant trade. “It takes 12 kg(26.4 lb) in the pod to yield 1 kg (2.2

CULINARYFARE


44

GOURMET SUPPLIERS

45

lb) of shelled peas because they arerigorously selected and podded byhand. On top of that, the season is veryshort, lasting less than three months inspring,” Burgaña explains. “We usuallysupply 150 to 175 kg (330 to 385 lb)of peas a year: the entire production issold in advance, mostly within Spain,though a certain quantity also goes toFrance.” Teardrop peas (which aregrown only in the Basque Country)are tiny, sweet, delicately textured andscarce—a sort of vegetable equivalentto caviar. And this goes for the price,too. They currently sell for around€1,500 a kg (2.2 lb).Teardrop peas make a regular seasonalappearance on the menu at La Tasquitade Enfrente, the Madrid restaurantowned and run by chef Juan JoséLópez Bedmar. It recently won a prize

for using the best products, awardedby Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía, one ofSpain’s most prestigious guides foreating out, compiled by food criticRafael García Santos. This will havecome as no surprise to López Bedmar’sprofessional colleagues, among whomhe is known for the impeccable qualityof his prime ingredients, many ofwhich take a lot to track down.Juan José is a tireless seeker-out ofsuppliers; he capitalizes on thetraveling about that this involves toask lots of questions about the localculinary panorama and identify itsmost respected producers. “Whenyou’ve been at it as long as I have,”he says, “people approach you directlywith their produce. That’s how I getmy truffles, my boletus mushrooms...a farmer brings me his beans... They’re

CULINARYFARE

Citrus firm Naranjas Lola is probably one

of the best-known suppliers to the

hospitality industry in the whole of Spain,

not least for its successful pioneering of

internet sales 12 years ago. The

company deals in table and juice

oranges, lemons, grapefruit and

clementines, which it grows on three

farms totaling just over 9 ha (22 acres) of

land in Cullera, Valencia (eastern Spain).

Orders received are fulfilled straight from

the field (no chilling involved) and

delivered to the customer by express

delivery service. Fresh, juicy and

aromatic, their sun-ripened oranges are

all a gourmet product should be, and

fans include the nation’s top chefs,

including Ferran Adrià. The company is

currently preparing for the launch next

spring of Tomates Lola, which will apply

the same formula to supply tomatoes

online. The chosen variety, Raf (a local

type successfully rescued from oblivion),

will be grown and sun-ripened in the

open air: another example of gourmet

simplicity.

Oranges:straight fromthe tree


46 47

supply. The Caspian Sea sturgeonfrom which these traditional types areobtained are on the brink of extinctionand have been declared a protectedspecies, so fishing for them is illegal.Caviar obtained from sturgeon bredin fish farms offers not only a solution,but a sustainable one.The products sold under the Riofriobrand are fresh caviar, slightly saltedand non-matured, packed in glass jars,delivered to the customer freshlyextracted in just 24 hours. This typeis certified organic. Another type(designated “traditional”) is also fresh,but comes packed in tins and containspreservatives so that it has a longershelf life. A third type (“matured”)comes in large tins, Iranian style: itis kept in maturing rooms for aroundfour months and presents subtler,more complex flavors. This type,which is sold under the Per Se brand,has the greatest demand outside Spain,accounting for 60% of total sales.These latter two types do not haveorganic certification because theycontain preservatives required by thecanning process.Last season, PSN slaughtered 1,500

sturgeon of the nearly 70,000 that theybreed in accordance with organic fishfarming requirements. Their sought-after roe find their way to delicatessenshops and appear in dishes createdby some of the best chefs in Spain.Like caviar, black truffles—therenowned tuber melanosporum—aresynonymous with luxury foods.Truffle-producing company Manjaresde la Tierra (Spain Gourmetour No. 70)was established in Sardón (Teruel,Aragón, northeastern Spain) sevenyears ago; today, that part of Aragónhas the biggest area devoted totruffle-growing in all of Spain (thoughnot all of it is productive at present).Company manager María JesúsAgustín explains that Manjares dela Tierra deals mainly in fresh truffles,of which there is a winter and asummer type (tuber aestivum).However, they also sell frozen trufflesall year round, as well as productscontaining this expensive delicacy(truffle in its own juice andin brandy, mature cheese with truffle,cream of truffle, foie gras with truffle,and extra virgin olive oil with truffle).“We’ve increased production year on

year,” she declares. “Last year wereached around 250 kg (551 lb) offresh truffle. All truffles released ontothe market weigh at least 20 g (0.7 oz)apiece. They will have reached thecompany facility within a few hoursof being harvested, then been cleaned,selected and tasted, and a little incisionis made so that the degree of ripenesscan be checked.”Restaurants and distributors (they aresold in England, Germany and France,too) constitute a customer list thatincludes “Spain’s five or six leadingchefs, who appreciate the quality,degree of ripeness and the fact thatthey are black right through: theblacker the truffle, the more flavorfuland aromatic they are.”Another favorite with haute cuisinechefs is specialist foie gras supplierCan Manent, based in Santa Eulàliade Ronçana (Barcelona, northeasternSpain). Since it was set up 15 yearsago, this company has been producingfoie gras from free range, specially-fedduck. The breed they use is Moulard(considered the best for foie gras),and they buy in live birds which thencomplete their fattening-up process

GOURMET SUPPLIERS

people outside the commercial circuit.If you’re after exclusivity anddistinctiveness, you have to venturebeyond the usual sphere. Trade fairsare fine for standard stuff, but I’mlooking for something else.”For fish and seafood, Juan José LópezBedmar knows exactly where to go.Pescados Chivite is a wholesaler basedin Mercamadrid (Madrid’s central foodmarket); its specialty is Mediterraneanred prawns, and it has been supplyingLópez Bedmar for over a decade. Oneimportant feature of this company isthat it buys on a daily basis at thequayside fish markets of Santa Pola,Villajoyosa and Denia (Alicante, easternSpain), where the finest produce fromthat area of coast is landed and sold atauction: red prawn, white prawn,langoustine, small hake, red mullet…“The business is governed by whatour customers ask for. Though we’reknown for our Mediterranean fishand seafood, we get all sorts of thingsfor our customers,” explains companymanager José María Galván. Examplesinclude wonderful Asturian elvers,Galician oysters, goose barnacles andsole. “The produce we sell is ofsuperlative quality and our customers,who are mostly from the hospitalityindustry, share our standards. It’s anapproach that pays dividends in theform of added value,” he declares. Inpractical terms, this means that fishbought on the quayside at middayis delivered that afternoon. “I sellMediterranean sea bass landed onlyhours before. There’s plenty of sea bassin the market, but none as recentlycaught as ours. Produce as fresh asthat is worth paying for.”

Delicacies madein SpainIt may not be as famous as the Iranianand Russian varieties, but Spanishcaviar is readily available in gourmetshops in Japan, the United States andFrance (and Spain, of course). SinceDecember 2000, Piscifactoría de SierraNevada, better known as PSN (SpainGourmetour No. 71), has beenproducing Riofrío caviar, the only

caviar in Europe certified as organic(certification by the AndalusianCommittee for Organic Aquaculturewas issued in 2001).It is a surprising fact that the littleGranada town of Riofrio (Andalusia,southern Spain) produced 2,200 kg(4,850 lb) of caviar last year, 40%of which was absorbed by foreignmarkets. The explanation is that a) itis an excellent product, and b) wildRussian and Iranian caviar is in short


35

leathery and tobacco aromas escortedby firm acidity and tannins assaultthe senses. Pere said the malolacticfermentation almost combined withthe tumultuous fermentation.“Sometimes it all happens before we’vefinished pressing the wine,” he said,adding proudly that it is now availablein 40 countries. “We visit eachimporter every year and spend fourmonths traveling,” he said.Up a secluded path near Felanitx is4 Kilos Vinícola, a small winery builtby partners Françesc Grimalt andSergio Caballero on what once wasa goat farm. Their passion forlocally-grown Callet, Fogoneu andManto Negro is palpable as caretakerMonica Cubel drives past theAlbocasser vineyard, planted with30-year-old vines on call vermell (thename given in Majorca to soils stainedred by iron oxide) clay soils. Nitrogen-fixing legumes are planted betweenneat rows to enrich poor soils. But it isat nearby Petita de Son Nadal vineyardthat their non-intervention philosophyis visible, as older vines vie with grass

and little yellow vinagrelle flowers forsubsistence. “It rained a lot just beforeharvest and we were the only onesthat could pick grapes without sinkingup to our knees,” said Monica.4 Kilos 2007 exudes an impressive,leathery perfumed nose derivedfrom 40% Callet and Fogoneubolstered by 10% Merlot and 50%of a rather mute, untypical Cabernetin need of bottle age. Françesc usesbarrels from just three coopers: a500-liter Vernou tonne and Frenchand American oak barriques byDemptos and François Frères. A MantoNegro 500-liter tank sample intendedfor 4 Kilos is dark, sultry and stillshallow after four months in oak.Monastrell destined for the same blendis meaty, wild and utterly attractivedespite its as-yet untutored tannins.You can see why a winemaker wouldwant to include it. Callet and anunusually Rhône-like Syrah 2009aimed at second label 12 Volts arefresh and full of sweet fruit. The finalblend includes Cabernet and is verywell structured.

WINES

found the balance of our wines wasnot making us happy,” acknowledgedMiquel. He said they were now tryingto make a more balanced wine, evenif it had less concentration. “To beginwith, we had to buy in a lot of grapes,and their condition was never quiteright,” said Miquel.ÀN 2006 is 100% Callet. Miquelsaid grapes are selected manually andthen protected with dry ice to avoidoxidation. “We do a pre-fermentativemaceration of three to four days,then raise the temperature forfermentation,” said Pere. Aromas ofcherries surrounded by wood lead tosweet fruit protected by gentle acidityand soft tannins. Miquel explainedthat there are three “extreme”vineyards which have always beenvinified separately. In 15 years theyhave bottled 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005and possibly there will be a 2007, saidMiquel. This wine is called Son Negre,after the area where the vineyardsare found. Son Negre 2005 is 100%Callet that spent 17 months in oak.Huge amounts of fruit surrounded by


46 47

supply. The Caspian Sea sturgeonfrom which these traditional types areobtained are on the brink of extinctionand have been declared a protectedspecies, so fishing for them is illegal.Caviar obtained from sturgeon bredin fish farms offers not only a solution,but a sustainable one.The products sold under the Riofriobrand are fresh caviar, slightly saltedand non-matured, packed in glass jars,delivered to the customer freshlyextracted in just 24 hours. This typeis certified organic. Another type(designated “traditional”) is also fresh,but comes packed in tins and containspreservatives so that it has a longershelf life. A third type (“matured”)comes in large tins, Iranian style: itis kept in maturing rooms for aroundfour months and presents subtler,more complex flavors. This type,which is sold under the Per Se brand,has the greatest demand outside Spain,accounting for 60% of total sales.These latter two types do not haveorganic certification because theycontain preservatives required by thecanning process.Last season, PSN slaughtered 1,500

sturgeon of the nearly 70,000 that theybreed in accordance with organic fishfarming requirements. Their sought-after roe find their way to delicatessenshops and appear in dishes createdby some of the best chefs in Spain.Like caviar, black truffles—therenowned tuber melanosporum—aresynonymous with luxury foods.Truffle-producing company Manjaresde la Tierra (Spain Gourmetour No. 70)was established in Sardón (Teruel,Aragón, northeastern Spain) sevenyears ago; today, that part of Aragónhas the biggest area devoted totruffle-growing in all of Spain (thoughnot all of it is productive at present).Company manager María JesúsAgustín explains that Manjares dela Tierra deals mainly in fresh truffles,of which there is a winter and asummer type (tuber aestivum).However, they also sell frozen trufflesall year round, as well as productscontaining this expensive delicacy(truffle in its own juice andin brandy, mature cheese with truffle,cream of truffle, foie gras with truffle,and extra virgin olive oil with truffle).“We’ve increased production year on

year,” she declares. “Last year wereached around 250 kg (551 lb) offresh truffle. All truffles released ontothe market weigh at least 20 g (0.7 oz)apiece. They will have reached thecompany facility within a few hoursof being harvested, then been cleaned,selected and tasted, and a little incisionis made so that the degree of ripenesscan be checked.”Restaurants and distributors (they aresold in England, Germany and France,too) constitute a customer list thatincludes “Spain’s five or six leadingchefs, who appreciate the quality,degree of ripeness and the fact thatthey are black right through: theblacker the truffle, the more flavorfuland aromatic they are.”Another favorite with haute cuisinechefs is specialist foie gras supplierCan Manent, based in Santa Eulàliade Ronçana (Barcelona, northeasternSpain). Since it was set up 15 yearsago, this company has been producingfoie gras from free range, specially-fedduck. The breed they use is Moulard(considered the best for foie gras),and they buy in live birds which thencomplete their fattening-up process

GOURMET SUPPLIERS

people outside the commercial circuit.If you’re after exclusivity anddistinctiveness, you have to venturebeyond the usual sphere. Trade fairsare fine for standard stuff, but I’mlooking for something else.”For fish and seafood, Juan José LópezBedmar knows exactly where to go.Pescados Chivite is a wholesaler basedin Mercamadrid (Madrid’s central foodmarket); its specialty is Mediterraneanred prawns, and it has been supplyingLópez Bedmar for over a decade. Oneimportant feature of this company isthat it buys on a daily basis at thequayside fish markets of Santa Pola,Villajoyosa and Denia (Alicante, easternSpain), where the finest produce fromthat area of coast is landed and sold atauction: red prawn, white prawn,langoustine, small hake, red mullet…“The business is governed by whatour customers ask for. Though we’reknown for our Mediterranean fishand seafood, we get all sorts of thingsfor our customers,” explains companymanager José María Galván. Examplesinclude wonderful Asturian elvers,Galician oysters, goose barnacles andsole. “The produce we sell is ofsuperlative quality and our customers,who are mostly from the hospitalityindustry, share our standards. It’s anapproach that pays dividends in theform of added value,” he declares. Inpractical terms, this means that fishbought on the quayside at middayis delivered that afternoon. “I sellMediterranean sea bass landed onlyhours before. There’s plenty of sea bassin the market, but none as recentlycaught as ours. Produce as fresh asthat is worth paying for.”

Delicacies madein SpainIt may not be as famous as the Iranianand Russian varieties, but Spanishcaviar is readily available in gourmetshops in Japan, the United States andFrance (and Spain, of course). SinceDecember 2000, Piscifactoría de SierraNevada, better known as PSN (SpainGourmetour No. 71), has beenproducing Riofrío caviar, the only

caviar in Europe certified as organic(certification by the AndalusianCommittee for Organic Aquaculturewas issued in 2001).It is a surprising fact that the littleGranada town of Riofrio (Andalusia,southern Spain) produced 2,200 kg(4,850 lb) of caviar last year, 40%of which was absorbed by foreignmarkets. The explanation is that a) itis an excellent product, and b) wildRussian and Iranian caviar is in short


32















































33













































the island.


49

CULINARYFARE

48

on a diet of boiled maize at CanManent. The birds are thenslaughtered and the liver is extractedand sold fresh. In addition to foie gras,the company also produces foie-basedproducts (mousses, pâtés, blocks,semi-preserves, canned foie) and duckmeat, ranging from fresh magret topreserved thighs, gizzard and variousother preparations.Can Manet handles some 20,000 ducka year, all of them destined to end upin luxury food shops and in thekitchens of 40% of Spain’s Michelin-starred chefs, who source their freshduck liver from them. “Top-notchcooks such as Ferran Adrià, QuiqueDacosta (Spain Gourmetour No. 54),Manolo de la Osa and Rodrigo de laCalle are very demanding,” reports

company manager Emilio Cucala.“They order specific sizes because thatinfluences both what they can do withit and the flavor. And of, course, theyinsist on quality. Our foie may be themost expensive on the market, butthat’s a relative concept since theyshrink less than others and thereforework out cheaper in the long run.”Can Manet’s policy of dealing only inthe finest quality examples of minority,hard-to-get products is, by definition,exclusive, and exactly mirrors theprinciples that earn top billing forrestaurants in Spain’s influential guidesfor dining out. Joan Roca’s restaurantEl Celler de Can Roca, in Girona(northeastern Spain), is a goodexample (it gained its third Michelinstar this year). Roca is an impassioned

champion of top-quality ingredients,and is of the opinion that “hautecuisine should make a point ofsupporting those small producers whoare doing so much to restore a culinaryheritage that was in danger of beinglost.” Asked where he ranks primematerials on the scale of importancewhen cooking at his level, he repliesunhesitatingly: “Top priority!” adding:“In the long term, restaurants likemine may well be the last redoubt ofproper flavors. And proper productstoo, yes, particularly products: thevery fact of seeking out small growersand producers for our supplies shoresup the status of prime ingredients notgenerally available in the moreaccessible, traditional marketplace.Creating exclusivity is part of ourjob; it’s what gives us our edge.”

GOURMET SUPPLIERS

Son, grandson and great-grandsonof baker Paco Fernández took overthe century-old family bakery inMadrid 25 years ago. He gave it anew name—Viena La Baguette—and introduced variety, bakingdifferent types of bread using bothwhite and rye flour. Today heproduces around 80 different types,many of them incorporatinggourmet ingredients (sun-driedtomato, extra virgin olive oil, truffle,wine...). The range is enormous andthe bread is still completelyartisanal. Each dough takes anaverage of 14 hours a day toprepare, long fermentation beingone of the secrets of his success.The flavor and aroma of breadderive from the acidic gasesproduced during fermentation,which become trapped in the glutensacs (alveoles, or holes) in thedough; this is why the more holesthe bread has, the better it is. Heuses select flours and works inclose collaboration with many chefswho ask him for special breads (herecently received a request forseaweed bread). His bakery istherefore represented in manyrestaurants all over Spain.

Bread forgourmets


49

CULINARYFARE

48




GOURMET SUPPLIERS


Bread forgourmets


Mugaritz and La Tasquita de Enfrentesource not only their Iberico suppliesfrom País de Quercus, but also the kid,suckling lamb and Merino lamb theyalso breed and supply.Cárnicas Luismi (San Sebastián,northern Spain) is another favoritemeat supplier to the top end of therestaurant trade: 90% of its clienteleare in the hospitality industry, andMartín Berasategui is a regularcustomer. It comes as no surpriseto learn, then, that the meat LuismiGarayar distributes is some of thebest in the country. While it is part ofGarayar’s job to select the best pieces,much of the credit for its reputationmust go to the intrinsic quality of theGalician beef obtained from olderanimals that he buys each week at theabattoir in Bandeira (Pontevedra,northwestern Spain). This is the onlytype of meat that Luismi deals in: “Asa rule, what chefs ask me for is leg andrack, or tenderloin and sirloin—infact, 70% of orders are for the latter,”explains Garayar. “We select animalsthat have been fed as naturally aspossible; I choose cows for particulargenetic characteristics—not too

muscular—rather than for obviousmeatiness.” This explains why themeat he supplies has such outstandingsensory properties: succulence,tenderness, and the flavor that onlya marbling of infiltrated fat can give.The average age of the animals heselects is around five or six, thoughthere are older ones to be found, infact, some chefs prefer them older.Nevertheless, Luismi Garayar explains:“Age isn’t the deciding factor. There isa category of cow that, at three to fouryears old, has never calved andtherefore gets sent to the abattoir. Ifthese cows have been well fed, theirmeat is excellent—tender and flavor-packed. In fact, it’s my favorite.”

Raquel Castillo is a journalist with a

special interest in food and wine. She is

head of the gastronomic section of the

daily business newspaper Cinco Días and

a regular contributor to such specialist

magazines such as Vino y Gastronomía,

Vivir el Vino, Vinoselección andSobremesa. She is also co-author of Elaceite de oliva de Castilla-La Manchaand of the Comer y beber en Madrideating out guide.

51

Luxury meatJoan Roca continues to set himselfapart by serving one of the mostunique meats on the market: cochinillo

ibérico (Iberico suckling pig, fedexclusively on mother’s milk andslaughtered at 20 days). The Ibericobreed is singular, and this young porkis extraordinarily tender and silky witha flavor all its own. Roca sources itfrom the specialists at País de Quercus,a company established barely a decadeago with Iberico pork as its star

product, supplying ham andcharcuterie as well as cuts of pork.What is particularly notable aboutthe way this company works is thatit monitors its products while still onthe hoof. To that end, it has a 500-ha(1,235-acre) farm on the outskirts ofBadajoz town (Extremadura, westernSpain) where the pigs roam freely,eating acorns and foraging in thescrubland pasture, acquiring superbattributes for their meat in the process(Spain Gourmetour No. 68).The company’s annual production

is estimated at around 10,000 pigs,though as manager José MaríaMonteagudo explains: “There arecertain parts of the animal that wedon’t deal in: pork belly is oneexample. There’s no demand for itamong our top restaurateurcustomers.” However, cuts of Ibericopork such as presa (shoulder loin),secreto (fore loin), pluma (top loin),solomillo (tenderloin), carrillera (cheek)all feature regularly on the shoppinglists of Spain’s finest chefs. Indeed,elBulli, El Celler de Can Roca,

GOURMET SUPPLIERS

Contact details

· Caviar de Riofrío(Piscifactoría de Sierra Nevada).Tel.: (+34) 958 322 621www.caviarderiofrio.com

· Manjares de la TierraTel.: (+34) 978 780 036www.manjaresdelatierra.com

· Can ManentTel.: (+34) 938 448 952www.canmanent.es

· Pescados ChiviteTel.: (+34) 916 400 037www.chivite.net

· Cárnicas LuismiTel.: (+34) 609 292 609www.carnicasluismi.com

·País de QuercusTel.: (+34) 924 276 953www.paisdequercus.com

· AroaTel.: (+34) 943 140 289www.aroasc.com

· El Huerto de ElcheTel.: (+34) 965 458 066www.gastrobotanica.com

· Viena La BaguetteTel.: (+34) 915 600 922

· Viena La CremTel.: (+34) 915 216 890

· Naranjas LolaTel.: (+34) 961 720 067www.naranjaslola.com



JUICE

Tradition and invention interplay in the most renownedkitchens in Spain. Couple that with an absolute devotionto native produce, and it seems only natural that olive oilwould eventually make its way into the pastry chef ’srepertoire. From coast to coast, Spanish pâtissiers andconfectioners are stretching the bounds of conventionalsweet making to create tastier, healthier, creamier andlighter desserts.

OLIVEThe Sweetness of

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55

By way of example, and before webegin the article, I invite you, thereader, to pick up a cookbook and flipthrough the pages to find how manyrecipes feature olive oil. If you are stillwilling to bear with me, I invite you tokeep turning pages until you reach thedessert section, and continue theprocess. Unless my own collection ismuch less varied than yours, mysuspicion is that you will find few tonone. Why this gross difference?Thanks to a global interest in theMediterranean diet, olive oil hasbecome a regular feature of kitchensthe world over, yet it is firmlyimplanted in our minds as a product touse in savory, not sweet dishes.

Making do withwhat’s availableIn Spain, however, this was notgenerally the case. The traditionalcooking of any region always makesuse of local produce. The green hillsof the north aside, Spain has beenpredominantly a sheep- and

pig-rearing country, so cooking fatsvery rarely included dairy. Butter wastherefore a product that was alwaysfairly alien to the cooking of much ofSpain and, if at all used, was a delicacyto be enjoyed on its own and notgenerally as part of a recipe. Thus, thecooking of the pig-rearing region ofExtremadura (in southwestern Spain)features the so-called dulces de matanza(slaughter day sweets), where pig lardfeatured heavily, and many of thesweets of Spain had this, or olive oil, asa major ingredient. A case in point is allof Spain’s fried confections, such aschurros, pestiños or rosquillas(doughnuts).The use of butter instead of oil insweet and pastry making, however,took hold in Spain thanks to thetremendous influence of Frenchcuisine in the late ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.Initially, this trend began in high-endestablishments, but as butter becameaffordable and common, its usegrew, substituting what was perceivedas a less sophisticated option,namely olive oil.

The call of the pastHowever, beginning in the late ‘80s,Spanish chefs looked deep into theroots of Spanish cuisine in order topush its limits further. This, combinedwith an effort to produce healthyfoodstuffs in the tradition of theMediterranean diet, led to a re-examination of the role of olive oil inconfectionery, and the staging of amajor comeback of green gold (as itis referred to in Andalusia, southernSpain) to the repertoire of ingredientsat the pastry chef’s disposal in Spain’sfinest eateries.One of the first building blocks in thisre-examination was, funnily enough,set in a region in which dairy was anintegral part of traditional cooking:the Basque Country (northern Spain).Intrigued by the physical propertiesof olive oil, three-Michelin-star chefMartín Berasategui devised a recipethat was truly ground-breaking: oliveoil ice cream.Judging by José Oneto’s experience,the initial reaction to this recipe might

54

OLIVE OIL

FOODBASICS

TEXTSAUL APARICIO HILL/©ICEX

PHOTOSTOYA LEGIDO AND TOMÁS

ZARZA/©ICEX


57

3 minutes. They mustn’t cook through.Open them up and set aside the roe.

Take an apple, cut into 2 mm / 0.07 inslices, then cut those slices into thinthreads.

Cocoa-yogurt sponge cake

Beat the eggs and the sugar until frothy.Add the yogurt and beat. Mix in the oil,adding it in a thin trickle to maintain theemulsion. In a bowl, mix the flours withthe cocoa and the raising agent. Sifttogether. Add the flours to the previousmix. Mix until you get a fluid cream. Coata 1 l / 4 1/4 cup baking pan with olive oiland corn flour, then place the mix in it.

Set the oven to maximum heat. Whenhot, place the baking pan inside andlower the heat to 160ºC / 320ºF. Bakefor 40 minutes, or until a knife comesout clean.

To serve

When cool, cut into 2 cm / 0.78 incubes. Place some apple threads andsea urchin roe on top. Finish off withsome droplets of extra virgin olive oil.

Preparation time 90 minutes

Miguel SierraCabo de Peñas sea urchins withcocoa and olive oil(Oricios del Cabo Peñascon cacao y aceite de oliva)

Miguel Sierra’s inventiveness andculinary ethos of reducing unhealthysweeteners can sometimes yieldsurprising results. In this recipe, hecombines a typical delicacy of hisnative Asturias, sea urchins, withthe sweetness of fruit and a delicatesponge cake.

SERVES 4

For the sea urchins: 2 sea urchins;1 apple; some droplets of extravirgin olive oil.

For the cocoa-yogurt spongecake: 150 ml / 2/3 cups egg; 130 g/ 4 1/2 oz sugar; 80 g / 3 oz full fatyogurt; 80 g / 3 oz extra virgin oliveoil; 10 g / 1/3 oz raising agent(bicarbonate of soda and powderedcitric acid mix); 50 g / 2 oz cocoapowder; 110 g / 3 1/2 oz corn flour;70 g / 3 oz cornstarch.

Sea urchins and apple

Take two sea urchins, preferablyfrom Asturias (those from Cabo dePeñas are especially appropriate),place in a plastic bowl andmicrowave at maximum wattage for

56

OLIVE OIL

well have been—please excuse thepun—chilled. Oneto, a chef, cookingteacher, food journalist and olive oilexpert, was invited to participate in anAndalusian product and cookingdemonstration in Miami’s luxuryInterContinental Hotel. One of hiscenterpieces was the recipe inquestion: extra virgin olive oil icecream. “The chefs at the hotel thoughtit was a scandalous idea. Once theytried it, though, they made it apermanent feature on their menus.”

Messages from theheartland of olive oilA resident of the province of Jaén(Andalusia), the largest producer ofolive oil in Spain, Oneto has alwayshad a passion for olive juice. This hasultimately led to the publication of hislatest book El aceite de oliva VirgenExtra en la repostería de ayer y hoy(Extra Virgin Olive Oil in PastryCooking, Past and Present), acompendium of 100 dessert recipesmade with extra virgin olive oil.Thinking back to the cookbookexperiment proposed earlier in thearticle, it is stunning to see thatOneto’s book features any number ofpreparations: from mousses to spongecakes, Bavarian creams to sorbets.And, indeed, investigating for hisbook, Oneto found that “in the vastmajority of desserts made today, oliveoil can be a perfectly valid substitutefor butter.”But why substitute butter at all, youmight ask? Healthy eating is a growingconcern in today’s food industry, andthe possibility of replacing saturatedanimal fats such as butter or lard witha monounsaturated option such as

Miguel Sierra


Nos. 71 and 72) in Madrid, foundthat the lower melting temperatureof olive oil means that mousses,emulsions and chocolate fillings canremain creamy at colder temperatures.But the technical applications don’tend there. In the case of cakes,fudges and sponge cakes, the effectcan be to make them lighter andpuffier in texture. A particularly goodexample is ice cream, for which thebenefits are surprisingly numerous.Since olive oil, as a fat, melts easierand faster than dairy products, icedproducts can be made creamier.Additionally, the flavors in iceddishes are released faster and withgreater intensity.

58 59

FOODBASICS

his work with a cholesterol careassociation that he first becameinterested in the possibility of reducingthe saturated fat content of desserts byincluding olive oil in his recipes.

UnsaturatingdessertsSince then, Sierra has spent yearsfinding ways of eliminating animal fatsfrom sweets, achieving particularlygood results with biscuits, spongecakes and croustillants. Sierra offersgood advice to those with interest inexperimenting. “Butter, for instance,has an 80% fat content, whereas oliveoil is 100% fat. So, when substituting

olive oil opens a new world ofpossibilities, both for the healthconscious and vegetarians.This concern was one of the issues thatmoved Miguel Sierra, winner of theBest Spanish Pastry Chef 2001 award,to begin to use olive oil in his pastries.Sierra cooperates with a number ofhealthy lifestyle associations in hisnative town of Avilés (Asturias), amodest-sized fishing municipality onthe northern coast of Spain, which hehas refused to abandon in spite ofgrowing fame and praise for his work.Reducing the amount of refined sugarand substituting it with naturalsweeteners, in fact, has been amainstay of his style. It was through

one for the other, you have to becareful and experiment with differentquantities to achieve the desired effect.”Sierra introduces a crucial point: thefundamental physical differencesbetween olive oil and butter. Theseinclude their different fat content, thefact that one is a solid at roomtemperature and the other a liquid,and that their boiling temperatures aredifferent. This must always be takeninto account, but it can also be used toproduce extraordinary outcomes.Sierra, like other chefs of great renownbefore him, such as Paco Torreblanca(Spain Gourmetour No. 72) in theValencia region (on Spain’s east coast)and Paco Roncero (Spain Gourmetour

“The introduction of new techniqueshas allowed us to use olive oil muchmore extensively in confectionery,”muses Jordi Butrón of Espai Sucrewhen asked how this trend hasevolved. “After all, until relativelyrecently, it was a fat which we couldnot even use in solid form.”

Solid extra virgin olive oil? Thereader might wonder what Butrón isthinking of when he says thosewords so off-handedly. But the factremains that the last couple of yearshave yielded techniques that haveallowed chefs to alter the naturalstate of olive oil. The two Spanishchefs that have probably done themost to change this concept areDani García (Spain GourmetourNos. 70 and 72) of CalimaRestaurant in Málaga (Andalusia,southern Spain), and Paco Roncero(Spain Gourmetour Nos. 71 and 72)of La Terraza del Casino in Madrid.

Extra virginolive oilpropertiesandtechniques

Using radically different approaches,solid olive oil has become a regularfeature of their menus.

García’s approach has been throughtemperature alteration. Often dubbedthe “King of Cold Cooking”, Garcíahas been one of the driving forcesbehind the extension of the use ofliquid nitrogen in kitchens today, andextra virgin olive oil was one of hisfirst test subjects. Through rapidfreezing techniques, he was able tocome up with creations such asa olive oil semolina and olive oil,peach, lychee, green apple and almond“gold lingot”.

Roncero, on the other hand,experimented with gellifiers, thickenersand emulsions. In this way, he was ableto make olive oil gum drops, olive oilbutter (served with bread before themeal, a healthier option to regularbutter), and even olive oil rice grainsand spaghetti.

Julio Blanco


cannot be successfully introducedinto a sweet dish, expanding therange of flavors at the disposal of anadventurous chef.In this respect, Blanco, sharing thecomments of his colleagues Torres andOneto, favors the use of smooth andfruity olive oils in sweet preparations.Olive oils made from the Arbequinavariety, for instance, seem to be thesolid favorite. “The freshness andfruitiness of Arbequina make it ideal

Olive oil confectionsin the land of butterA few miles away from Sierra’s Avilés,and still in the dairy farmland ofAsturias, another young pâtissier ismaking waves on the Spanish pastryscene. Gijón is the site where JulioBlanco’s shop, Pomme Sucre, isattracting sweet tooths from all overSpain. Perhaps unsurprisingly for aformer student of the famous Paco

reasons than simply the technicalpossibilities offered and the abilityto alter textures. Tastes and scentsare what attracted his attention.Olive oil, according to Blanco, has awide palette of “very usable andinteresting aromas and flavors.” Thearomas that extra virgin olive oil canpresent, depending on the variety ofolive or the coupage can be “floral,fruity, herby or spicy”, to name a few,and there is no reason why they

to combine with sweetness,” saidOneto. “Stronger and more intense oilslike those made from Picual olives canbe a little overpowering.”

The more, thebetterThere does not, however, appear tobe a consensus on this point. In theheart of Barcelona, Jordi Butron (ofEspai Sucre dessert restaurant and

60 61

FOODBASICS

Torreblanca (widely considered thegodfather of Spanish pastry chefs), heis currently experimenting with usingolive oil to make a spongier, lighterand healthier panettone (despite itsItalian origin, Torreblanca has madepanettone one of his signaturecreations).One of his first approaches toincorporating extra virgin olive oil intohis confections came in co-operationwith one of the most respected figures

on the Asturian food and wine scene,Marcos Morán, of Michelin-starredCasa Gerardo restaurant. Together theycreated a recipe for a turrón (a sweetpaste made with almonds and honey)that combined chocolate, mandarinand extra virgin olive oil, to muchacclaim. Today, Blanco offers a similarproduct in his shop, and it was one ofthe biggest sellers of the winter season.Blanco’s interest in olive oil,however, was awakened for more

OLIVE OIL

Despite being away from the mainmedia hubs of Spain, Julio Blanco’stalent has transcended his nativeAsturias, gaining praise from all therelevant specialists in Spain. For thisarticle, he provides us with a recipefor turrón, a typical sweet which isespecially popular around Christmas.Although traditional turrón is madewith nothing but almonds and honey,many more modern interpretationssuch as this are made in Spain.

SERVES 4

For the popcorn toffee: 100 g / 3 1/2oz popcorn; 1 soup spoon salt; 100 g /3 1/2 oz sugar; 50 g / 2 oz water.

For the olive oil and chocolateganache: 200 g / 7 oz 35% heavycream + 520 g / 1 lb 3 oz Arbequinaextra virgin olive oil; 120 g / 4 1/2 ozinvert sugar; 1.32 kg / 3 lb milkchocolate (40%); 820 g / 1 lb 12 ozdark chocolate (64%).

For the mandarin ganache: 375 g / 13oz mandarin pulp; 300 g / 10 1/2 oz35% heavy cream + 125 g / 4 1/2 ozArbequina extra virgin olive oil; 360 g /12 oz 35% white chocolate.

Popcorn toffee

Fry the corn kernels to makepopcorn, in a little olive oil, usingthe traditional method. Add salt.Mix, while hot, in a syrup madefrom the water and sugar at120ºC / 248ºF and caramelize.Pour into a 0.5 cm / 0.2 in frameand allow to cool.

Olive oil and chocolate ganache

Heat the cream, oil and invert sugarto 40ºC / 104ºF. In another pan,melt the chocolate at 40ºC / 104ºFand emulsify together until you havea bright, smooth cream. Pour ontop of the popcorn toffee and allowto crystallize a few hours at 18ºC /64.4ºF.

Mandarin ganache

Heat the fruit pulp, cream and oil to40ºC / 104ºF. In another pan, meltthe chocolate at 40ºC / 104ºF andemulsify until you have a bright,smooth cream. Pour on top of theprevious layer (adding another 0.5 /0.2 in frame) and allow to crystallize72 hours. Once crystallized, givegloss, cut to desired size anddecorate.

Preparation time 40 minutes

Julio BlancoPopcorn and olive oil turrón(Turrón de palomitas y aceite de oliva)


63

FOODBASICS

cooking school) is a passionateadvocate of the use of all olive oils inpreparing confectionery. “Traditionally,the use of olive oils in sweet foods inCatalonia was quite common. Here atEspai Sucre we picked up on this, anduse it for all sorts of recipes: spongecakes, biscuits, ice creams, chocolates...anything, really.”Although Arbequina (the predominantoil in Catalonia) was the first oil theyused when they incorporated it intotheir recipes, they found that, due tothe subtlety of its flavor and highvolatility, aromas were lost in recipesthat required long cooking times, suchas a sponge cake. The answer: astronger, more intensely aromatic oliveoil, like Picual. In fact, “more and more,we are trying not to cook Arbequina,and use it simply to dress desserts oncethey are cooked, so all the notes of fruit,herbs, grass and flowers are not lost.”Once they started to experiment inearnest, they found that when olive oilis thought of as a usual ingredient in adessert kitchen, the amount of availableoptions is exponentially expanded.The more olive oils you are willing touse, essentially, the more flavorsbecome available to you.

3 brothers, 3 stars,one shared opinionThis assessment is shared by anotherJordi, this one of El Celler de Can Rocafame. An hour’s drive away fromBarcelona, Jordi Roca and his twobrothers, Joan and Josep, recentlycollected a long-expected thirdMichelin star and placed El Celler in5th place on the San Pellegrino 100Best Restaurants in the World list.

Extra virgin olive oil is nothing morethan olive juice from the first press, sothere are as many flavors and aromasin olive oil as there are varieties. Hereis a sample of some of the mostcommon Spanish varieties:

Arbequina

Mainly hailing from Catalonia (innortheastern Spain), Arbequina oilsare fruity and light, with aromas ofapple, green almond and freshly cutgrass.

Cornicabra

The regions of Toledo (in centralSpain) and Valencia (on the eastcoast) is where this variety ispredominant. Bitter and withpeppery overtones, it also has afruity character and a touch ofbitterness and almond on the finish.

Empeltre

Grown mainly in Catalonia, the BalearicIslands (in the Mediterranean Sea) andAragon (in northeast Spain), greenapple, ripe almonds and a pepperycharacter dominate the flavor palette inthis oil.

Hojiblanca

Widely grown throughout Andalusia(southern Spain), Hojiblanca ispredominantly herby, with a distinctaroma of green grass and herbs.

Manzanilla Cacereña

Named after the part of Extremadura(western Spain) in which it ispredominantly cultivated, it has anextreme ripeness to it that reminds oneof apples and bananas.

Picual

The most widely grown variety in Spain,it is an extremely fruity and aromaticvariety, where notes of figs settle onto abase peppery bitterness.

A world ofvarietiesand flavors

Jord

iBut

rón


Mugaritz and La Tasquita de Enfrentesource not only their Iberico suppliesfrom País de Quercus, but also the kid,suckling lamb and Merino lamb theyalso breed and supply.Cárnicas Luismi (San Sebastián,northern Spain) is another favoritemeat supplier to the top end of therestaurant trade: 90% of its clienteleare in the hospitality industry, andMartín Berasategui is a regularcustomer. It comes as no surpriseto learn, then, that the meat LuismiGarayar distributes is some of thebest in the country. While it is part ofGarayar’s job to select the best pieces,much of the credit for its reputationmust go to the intrinsic quality of theGalician beef obtained from olderanimals that he buys each week at theabattoir in Bandeira (Pontevedra,northwestern Spain). This is the onlytype of meat that Luismi deals in: “Asa rule, what chefs ask me for is leg andrack, or tenderloin and sirloin—infact, 70% of orders are for the latter,”explains Garayar. “We select animalsthat have been fed as naturally aspossible; I choose cows for particulargenetic characteristics—not too

muscular—rather than for obviousmeatiness.” This explains why themeat he supplies has such outstandingsensory properties: succulence,tenderness, and the flavor that onlya marbling of infiltrated fat can give.The average age of the animals heselects is around five or six, thoughthere are older ones to be found, infact, some chefs prefer them older.Nevertheless, Luismi Garayar explains:“Age isn’t the deciding factor. There isa category of cow that, at three to fouryears old, has never calved andtherefore gets sent to the abattoir. Ifthese cows have been well fed, theirmeat is excellent—tender and flavor-packed. In fact, it’s my favorite.”

Raquel Castillo is a journalist with a

special interest in food and wine. She is

head of the gastronomic section of the

daily business newspaper Cinco Días and

a regular contributor to such specialist

magazines such as Vino y Gastronomía,

Vivir el Vino, Vinoselección andSobremesa. She is also co-author of Elaceite de oliva de Castilla-La Manchaand of the Comer y beber en Madrideating out guide.

51

Luxury meatJoan Roca continues to set himselfapart by serving one of the mostunique meats on the market: cochinillo

ibérico (Iberico suckling pig, fedexclusively on mother’s milk andslaughtered at 20 days). The Ibericobreed is singular, and this young porkis extraordinarily tender and silky witha flavor all its own. Roca sources itfrom the specialists at País de Quercus,a company established barely a decadeago with Iberico pork as its star

product, supplying ham andcharcuterie as well as cuts of pork.What is particularly notable aboutthe way this company works is thatit monitors its products while still onthe hoof. To that end, it has a 500-ha(1,235-acre) farm on the outskirts ofBadajoz town (Extremadura, westernSpain) where the pigs roam freely,eating acorns and foraging in thescrubland pasture, acquiring superbattributes for their meat in the process(Spain Gourmetour No. 68).The company’s annual production

is estimated at around 10,000 pigs,though as manager José MaríaMonteagudo explains: “There arecertain parts of the animal that wedon’t deal in: pork belly is oneexample. There’s no demand for itamong our top restaurateurcustomers.” However, cuts of Ibericopork such as presa (shoulder loin),secreto (fore loin), pluma (top loin),solomillo (tenderloin), carrillera (cheek)all feature regularly on the shoppinglists of Spain’s finest chefs. Indeed,elBulli, El Celler de Can Roca,

GOURMET SUPPLIERS

Contact details

· Caviar de Riofrío(Piscifactoría de Sierra Nevada).Tel.: (+34) 958 322 621www.caviarderiofrio.com

· Manjares de la TierraTel.: (+34) 978 780 036www.manjaresdelatierra.com

· Can ManentTel.: (+34) 938 448 952www.canmanent.es

· Pescados ChiviteTel.: (+34) 916 400 037www.chivite.net

· Cárnicas LuismiTel.: (+34) 609 292 609www.carnicasluismi.com

·País de QuercusTel.: (+34) 924 276 953www.paisdequercus.com

· AroaTel.: (+34) 943 140 289www.aroasc.com

· El Huerto de ElcheTel.: (+34) 965 458 066www.gastrobotanica.com

· Viena La BaguetteTel.: (+34) 915 600 922

· Viena La CremTel.: (+34) 915 216 890

· Naranjas LolaTel.: (+34) 961 720 067www.naranjaslola.com


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FOODBASICS

cooking school) is a passionateadvocate of the use of all olive oils inpreparing confectionery. “Traditionally,the use of olive oils in sweet foods inCatalonia was quite common. Here atEspai Sucre we picked up on this, anduse it for all sorts of recipes: spongecakes, biscuits, ice creams, chocolates...anything, really.”Although Arbequina (the predominantoil in Catalonia) was the first oil theyused when they incorporated it intotheir recipes, they found that, due tothe subtlety of its flavor and highvolatility, aromas were lost in recipesthat required long cooking times, suchas a sponge cake. The answer: astronger, more intensely aromatic oliveoil, like Picual. In fact, “more and more,we are trying not to cook Arbequina,and use it simply to dress desserts oncethey are cooked, so all the notes of fruit,herbs, grass and flowers are not lost.”Once they started to experiment inearnest, they found that when olive oilis thought of as a usual ingredient in adessert kitchen, the amount of availableoptions is exponentially expanded.The more olive oils you are willing touse, essentially, the more flavorsbecome available to you.

3 brothers, 3 stars,one shared opinionThis assessment is shared by anotherJordi, this one of El Celler de Can Rocafame. An hour’s drive away fromBarcelona, Jordi Roca and his twobrothers, Joan and Josep, recentlycollected a long-expected thirdMichelin star and placed El Celler in5th place on the San Pellegrino 100Best Restaurants in the World list.

Extra virgin olive oil is nothing morethan olive juice from the first press, sothere are as many flavors and aromasin olive oil as there are varieties. Hereis a sample of some of the mostcommon Spanish varieties:

Arbequina

Mainly hailing from Catalonia (innortheastern Spain), Arbequina oilsare fruity and light, with aromas ofapple, green almond and freshly cutgrass.

Cornicabra

The regions of Toledo (in centralSpain) and Valencia (on the eastcoast) is where this variety ispredominant. Bitter and withpeppery overtones, it also has afruity character and a touch ofbitterness and almond on the finish.

Empeltre

Grown mainly in Catalonia, the BalearicIslands (in the Mediterranean Sea) andAragon (in northeast Spain), greenapple, ripe almonds and a pepperycharacter dominate the flavor palette inthis oil.

Hojiblanca

Widely grown throughout Andalusia(southern Spain), Hojiblanca ispredominantly herby, with a distinctaroma of green grass and herbs.

Manzanilla Cacereña

Named after the part of Extremadura(western Spain) in which it ispredominantly cultivated, it has anextreme ripeness to it that reminds oneof apples and bananas.

Picual

The most widely grown variety in Spain,it is an extremely fruity and aromaticvariety, where notes of figs settle onto abase peppery bitterness.

A world ofvarietiesand flavors

Jord

iBut

rón


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GOURMET SUPPLIERS


Bread forgourmets


Critics the world over shower praiseon their soulful and stunninglycreative menu with its distinctMediterranean spirit.Jordi, who is in charge of not onlysweets and pastries, but also of anynumber of sweet preparationsincluded in main courses, feels thatany extra virgin olive oil can yieldresults if appropriately used.“Arbequina, Picual, Cornicabra,Koroneiki… every olive oil hasaromas and flavors that are distinctand can combine well or enhancedifferent ingredients. Once a harmonyis found, it simply becomes aquestion of finding the dosage andtechnique that will bring the most outof every element.”The youngest of the Rocas isparticularly enthusiastic about thecombination of citrus flavors andolive oil, which has multipleapplications beyond the creationof desserts. “We are currently servinga fillet of sole with Mediterraneanaromas (including bergamot andorange rind) which we completewith droplets of Dauro olive oilcaramel” (Dauro, manufactured byRioja winemaker Roda, is a coupageof Arbequina, Hojiblanca andKoroneiki oils, Spain GourmetourNo. 63). Another example is one ofthe classic Can Roca appetizers:caramelized olives, served hangingfrom an olive bonsai.Beyond particular dishes, theintroduction of olive oil intoconfections also allows the Rocas toreinforce one of the pillars of theirculinary ethos: a menu that shifts inresponse to the changing seasons. “Adish made with an animal fat will tendto be heavier and harder to digest than

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OLIVE OIL

mixing gently. Sift the remaining solidsinto the mix, mixing gently in a circularmotion. Carefully add the olive oil, mixingit in 3 pours. Line a rectangular bakingtin with aluminum foil, add the mix andcook for 20 minutes in an oven,preheated to 165-170ºC / 329-338ºF, ona Silpat sheet. Turn around on the sheetso that both sides of the sponge cakehave a flat surface and the oil distributesitself homogenously through. Put in arefrigerator so that the spongecompacts properly, then cut into 3 x 6 x1 cm / 1.1 x 2.3 x 0.4 in rectangles.

Smoked San Simón cream

Cut off the rind from the cheese andinfuse the milk (1) with it for 7 minutes.Dissolve the cheese without the rind in aThermomix with the milk (2) and creamat 60ºC / 140ºF during 5 minutes. In themeantime, boil the milk, the agar agarand gelatin. Mix both preparationstogether, cool down. Keep cold, coveredwith plastic wrap so that the top doesnot congeal.

White peach and jasmine sorbet

Mix all the ingredients together. Allow torest for 2 hours. Mix again and then pourinto an ice cream maker. Keep in freezer.

White peach agar agar

Dissolve the agar agar in a small fractionof the pulp and syrup, then bring to aboil. When the temperature hasdropped, add the gelatin and integrateproperly. Add the rest of the peach pulp.Pour into a 16 x 16 cm / 6.2 x 6.2 inframe on a stainless steel plaque andwith plasticine on the sides to stop itfrom pouring out. Allow to cool and cutinto 3 x 3 cm / 1.2 x 1.2 in cubes.

Green olive foam

Dissolve Xantana and sugar in the olive

juice. Mix in the cream. Keeprefrigerated until it is time to serve.Using a siphon, make a foam justbefore dish is served.

Green olive caramel

Prepare a caramel with the glucoseand fondant by bringing it to atemperature of 150ºC / 302ºF ina pan. When it reaches thattemperature, take off the heat andadd the olive dust, mixing carefullyso that the caramel doesn’tcrystallize. Allow this mix to cool ina dry place (e.g. in a silica gel bag).To prepare for serving, take a pieceof this base caramel, place on aSilpat and place in oven at 180ºC /356ºF until it melts. Stretch outbetween two Silpats. Remove oneof the Silpats, cover with kitchen rolland turn over to remove. Place on ahot plate and cut into 2 x 8 cm / 0.8x 3.2 in rectangles. Allow to cooland separate the caramel sheets.

Keep in a dry place until served (insilica gel bag).

To serve

Place a rectangle of sponge cakeand a cube of peach agar agar inthe center of the plate. Place a tearof San Simón cream along thecubes in the center. Place the 6small cubes of cheese on thecream. Place the foam on the toppart of the plate. Place a quenelleof sorbet on the sponge cake,perpendicular to the rectangle.Finally, place a sheet of caramelwith one end on the sorbet and theother on the cream.

Preparation time

210 minutes

For many years, Jordi Butrón and XanoXaguer’s Espai Sucre dessert restaurantand cooking school in Barcelona hasbeen at the forefront of Spanish culinaryinnovation. Starting from a flavor, anaroma or a texture, Espai Sucreconstructs dishes in which all thepreparations contribute to highlightingthe initial idea. This creation plays with aclassic combination: cheese and oil.

SERVES 4

For the olive oil sponge cake: 4 eggs;100 g / 3 1/2 oz sugar; 60 g / 2 oz milk;160 g / 5 1/2 oz flour; 125 g / 4 1/2 ozground almond flour; 250 g / 9 oz olive oil.

For the smoked San Simón cream:250 g / 9 oz smoked San Simón cheese,with rind; 200 g / 7 oz milk (1); 50 g /2 oz cream; 100 g / 3 1/2 oz milk (2); 1 g /0.03 oz agar agar.

For the white peach and jasminesorbet: 1 kg / 2 1/2 lb white peach pulp;60 g / 2 oz Sosa pro-sorbet; 30 g / 1 ozsugar; 10 drops Jasmine essence.

For the white peach agar agar: 350 g /12 oz white peach pulp; 1:1 syrup; 1.8 g/ 0.06 oz agar agar; 1 1/2 gelatin sheets.

For the green olive foam: 250 g / 9 ozolive juice; 100 g / 3 1/2 oz cream; 10 g/ 1/3 oz sugar; 1.8 g / 0.06 oz Xantana;1 gas charge.

For the green olive caramel: 60 g /2 oz green Seville olive dust; 100 g /3 1/2 glucose; 100 g / 3 1/2 oz fondant.

Others: 6 cubes San Simón cheese;extra virgin olive oil in a squeeze bottle.

Olive oil sponge cake

Genovese system. Beat the eggs andthe sugar together until clear andcreamy. Add milk in a slow trickle,

Jordi ButrónExtra virgin olive oil sponge cake with whitepeach, green olive and San Simón cheese(Bizcocho de aceite virgin extra, melocotón blanco, olivaverde y San Simón)



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Green olive foam



Green olive caramel



To serve


Preparation time

210 minutes


SERVES 4












67

one made with olive oil,” he explains,“so we use that trait to serve lightersweets made with extra virgin olive oilduring the hot summer. Come winter,when the cold means that a heartier,more filling dessert is more appropriate,we include more animal fat.”

A final wordAs in many developments in moderncooking today, old taboos seem tocrumble under examination and thewill to put any worthy ingredient togood use. The potential of extra virginolive oil in any area of the kitchen—even where it traditionally didn’tfeature—is there to be exploited if onedares. With the serenity and level-headedness that is characteristic of theRoca approach, Jordi dispels any fearof using olive oils in confectionery. “Incooking, fats are a necessary element,and extra virgin olive oils are,ultimately, nothing but an aromaticfat.” It’s as simple as that.

Saul Aparicio Hill is a Madrid-basedfreelance journalist and translator whosework as a writer and broadcaster hasappeared in media in Spain, the UK,Ireland, India, Australia and the USA,among other countries.

Websites

· Sweet World (Miguel Sierra)www.miguelsierra.es

· Espai Sucrewww.espaisucre.com

· El Celler de Can Rocawww.cellercanroca.com

Jordi Roca Caramelized apricot(Albaricoque caramelizado)

the apricot pulp. Add the olive oil andboil. Put through a sieve, allow to cool.Once cold, add the egg whites.

Apricot sauce

Make a caramel with the sugar andglucose, stop the cooking process withthe schnapps. Add the butter andcorrect the density with the water.

Ice cream

Heat the cream, milk and invert sugar.Mix all the solids: sugar, dextrose,powdered milk and stabilizer. Add thecream and milk when they are at 70ºC /158ºF. Raise temperature to 85ºC /185ºF. Chill as quickly as possible.Once cold, add the apricot pits andolive oil and put through a blender.Allow to infuse for 12 hours in arefrigerator at 4ºC / 39.2ºF.

Blown fondant

Cook the sugars to 150ºC / 302ºF, addthe citric acid and raise the temperatureto 160ºC / 320ºF. Stretch out on siliconpaper. Compress into a ball and stretchout again 20 times. Cut into small, 1 cm/ 0.4 in balls, and with the aid of apump, blow into small apricot shapes.Cut off the tip that joins them to thepump and keep away from humidity.

To serve

Draw a line of apricot sauce, place aquenelle of apricot pit ice cream on oneside on the plate. On the other, place acaramel ball, filled with the apricot foam(using a siphon).

Preparation time

130 minutes

After many years of work, El Cellerde Can Roca finally received a well-earned third star in the latest editionof The Michelin Guide, confirmingwhat many already knew: that itwas one of the great restaurantsof the world. The recipe providedby Jordi Roca is typical of theRocas’ cuisine: delicate balance,a preoccupation with preservingand intensifying the flavors ofnatural ingredients, and exquisitevisual presentation.

SERVES 4

For the warm apricot foam: 100 g/ 3 1/2 oz sugar; 500 g / 1 lb 2 ozapricot pulp; 50 g / 2 oz extra virginolive oil; 325 g / 11 oz pasteurizedegg whites.

For the apricot sauce: 100 g / 31/2 oz sugar; 50 g / 2 oz glucose;24 g / 1 oz apricot liqueur; 25 g /1 oz butter; 100 g / 3 1/2 water.

For the apricot pit and olive oilice cream: 50 g / 2 oz cream; 300g / 10 1/2 oz milk; 25 g / 1 oz invertsugar; 50 g / 2 oz sugar; 20 g /1 oz powdered milk; 24 g / 1 ozdextrose; 2 g / 0.07 oz ice creamstabilizer; 50 g / 2 oz extra virginolive oil; 5 apricot pits.

For the blown fondant:250 g / 9 oz fondant; 125 g / 4 1/2oz glucose; 125 g / 4 1/2 isomalt;10 g / 1/3 oz 50% citric solution.

Warm apricot foam

Make a caramel with the sugar andstop the cooking process by adding

Jord

iRoc

a



La caza and its culture have a unique place in Spanish life.Spanish game meat, from venison to partridge, wild boar torabbit, is one of the jewels of the national gastronomy—yetit barely exists on the national menu, and consumption inSpain is am ong the lowest in Eur ope. Paul Richar dsonexplores the contradictions of hunting, and tracks down thepeople who are working to resolve them.

AnUndervaluedDelicacy

GAMEAHEAD

TextPaul Richardson/©ICEX

PhotosAntonio Mata/©ICEX

IllustrationsAlfredo

of the

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Nine o’clock on a freezing morning inlate December. The rolling plains ofwestern Extremadura, some of theleast populated landscape in Europe,stretch away into the far distance. Ifyou can forget about the cold, it couldbe Africa.Outside the bar Batalla, in the rusticvillage of Membrío (Cáceres, westernSpain), the streets are jammed with bigpowerful cars that have driven in fromMadrid (the nation’s capital, in centralSpain), Salamanca and Valladolid(Castile-Leon, in central-northernSpain). Inside the bar is an excitedhubbub of coffee, smoke, and platesof fried migas (bread soaked and friedwith pepper, chorizo and pork belly),the breakfast food of the Spanish hunt.The protagonists, wearing green andbrown hunting clothes in felt, corduroyand leather, are just now casting lotsfor the various puestos: the positionsthey will occupy with their guns.Today’s event is a montería, a big gamehunt, to be held on the 900-ha (2,223-acre) estate of La Puntería, nearAlcántara (Cáceres). The finca is a vastexpanse of scrubby woodland androcky hills, with rivers runningthrough it and an abundance of deerand wild boar. Alberto Muñoz of CazaPlaneta, organizers of monterías onsome of Spain’s grandest countryestates, has invited me to see with myown eyes what few people outside thehunting fraternity have ever seen: thespectacle, the complex organization,and the excitement of a montería with60 rifles.The 4x4s drive in a long caravan intothe depths of the finca, which bordersthe Tagus River next to the

Portuguese border. Once in the heartof the estate, Alberto assigns thehunters to their posts and calls in thedog handlers with their rehalas (dogpacks). The packs are let loose andbegin to run among the undergrowth,picking up scents. A hare darts past infront of my car.By mid-morning the chill has barelybeen lifted by the sun. The air ringsout with gunshots, distant shouts, thebarking of excited dogs. Alberto givesorders on his walkie-talkie, directingthe dog handlers to drive the animalsout of their hiding places and intothe path of the guns. These huntershave paid several hundred euros tobring down a deer or wild boar, andit is his job to ensure that they don’tgo home empty-handed. Vultureswheel in the air overhead, attractedby the scent of death.It is all over surprisingly quickly.While the hunters tuck into a steamingcocido (a stew made of chickpeas,vegetables and various types of meat)back at the big house, the morning’stally is laid out on the grass among theoak trees. Five wild boar and 30 stagslie in rows. Now the business endcomes into play. The vets arrive to test,measure and take samples. Then themen from the game warehouse innearby Alcántara eviscerate the animalsand take off the carcasses forprocessing. Almost all of this meat isdestined for Germany; there is nodemand for it here. What matters tothe hunter is his trophy. A taxidermistappears to label up the horns and takeclients’ details; he will send them thefinished trophies in the mail.

A popular pastimeThe Spanish philosopher José Ortega yGasset (1881-1955) defined the appealof hunting in the modern era as areturn to mankind’s ancestralrelationship with the natural world.“…Herein lies the grace and delight ofhunting, where man, cast through hisinevitable progress, beyond hisancestral proximity to animals, plants,minerals, at one with nature, takespleasure in the skilful return thereto,the only occupation which allows himsomething semblant to a holiday fromhumanity… When you are sick of theirritating day-to-day, of being very 20th

century, take your shotgun, whistle foryour dog, head to the mountains and,for a few hours, relish in beingPaleolithic…” (Prologue to Veinte Añosde Caza Mayor en España, Twenty Yearsof Big Game Hunting in Spain, Condede Yebes, 1943).For centuries hunting was the majorleisure pursuit of the Spanisharistocracy, in whose hands it took onthe sophistication of something like anart form. El Libro de la Caza, written byPrince Don Juan Manuel (1282-1348)in 1327, is one of the most importanttreatises on the subject in medievalliterature. Nowadays the country hasalmost a million paid-up members ofcotos privados de caza (private huntinggrounds), of which there are around32,000, and hunting remains anenormously popular activity.Despite its dubious public image, thehunt in Spain carries considerableeconomic weight. According to AndrésGutiérrez Lara, president of the RoyalSpanish Hunting Federation (RFEC),

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the sector generates as much as fivebillion euros per year and providessome 15,000 jobs in the countryside.Hunting fans have been known tospend up to 40,000 euros a year onmonterías. As an activity, hunting inSpain divides into two basic forms. Biggame includes larger species like thewild boar, fallow deer, and roe deer,while small game covers the range ofsmaller birds and mammals, fromrabbit and hare to partridge, duck,pigeon, pheasant and quail. Where biggame is concerned, according to theMinistry of Environment and Ruraland Marine Affairs, Spanish hunterssuccessfully bring down some 260,000animals every year, of which 75,000are deer and 140,000 are wild boar.

One man’s meat...The paradox and mystery surroundingla caza (the word refers to both theactivity and the meat, in English,“game”) is that a country so passionateabout hunting should have so little

place in its culinary culture for theproducts of the hunt. At a time whenWestern society is more concernedthan ever by questions of health andpurity in its food, it is striking thatSpanish consumers have largely failedto notice the obvious facts aboutgame meat: that it comes from anatural source, and is thereforeadditive and hormone free; and that itcontains less cholesterol and fat thanalmost all other meat and fish.(Venison, moreover, has as much as50% more protein than beef andaround half the calories.)Spain’s relationship with game meat is,in any case, a notably discreet affair.Many Spaniards do not taste gamemeat from one year to the next, andaverage annual consumption per headis one of the lowest in Europe at 100 g/ 3.5 oz (compare France’s 600 g / 21oz, and Finland’s 9 kg / 19.8 lb perhead per year).That said, the Spanish repertoireincludes one or two relatively familiar

dishes. Partridge en escabeche (a mildpickle sauce made with vinegar, wine,oil, garlic and herbs, usually eatencold) is popular in Castile-La Mancha(in central Spain), but can be found allover the peninsula and is widely soldpreserved. (A favorite fast food trick ofmine is to open a can of partridge enescabeche over a mixed leaf salad for aquick and easy summer supper.)Rabbit and hare often form the basisfor a rustic rice dish, a good examplebeing the paella de conejo y caracoles

(rabbit and snail paella) of Alicante (onthe east coast of Spain). Rabbit inparticular is still a well-liked meat inSpain, though nowadays the animal inquestion is much more likely to befarmed than wild. Catalonia(northeastern Spain) is fond of its conill

(rabbit), while rabbit in tomato sauceis a traditional dish originating in therich agricultural lands of inland Murcia(in southeastern Spain). When itcomes to big game, traditional recipesare few and far between. The famously

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encyclopedic Manual Clásico de Cocinaof Ana María Herrera (1950) containsnot a single recipe for venison, nor forwild boar. Herrera might well haveincluded at least a stew of deer of thekind that home cooks prepare in thetowns of the Montes de Toledo(Castile-La Mancha). Here the meat isallowed to steep for a day or two in anadobo (marinade) of red wine, herbsand olive oil before being slow cookedwith plenty of onions.

Fur and featherThough hunting takes place on a smallscale in every autonomous community,without exception, a few Spanishregions have successfully transformedhunting into a commercial activitywith a certain importance within thelocal economy. The mountains of theSierra Morena in northern Andalusia(the southernmost part of Spain)—thelast refuge of some of the peninsula’srarest mammals, not to mention largepopulations of deer and wild boar—

are parceled up into huge privatefincas, many of which derive theirincome from the business of big game.Another region with large extensionsof thinly-populated countryside wherehunting is practiced on a large scale isExtremadura (in western Spain),especially the San Pedro Mountainswest of Cáceres and the vast dehesa(pastureland) around Badajoz. But theautonomous community that takeshunting most seriously, both astradition and business, is undoubtedlyCastile-La Mancha. The provinces ofCiudad Real, Cuenca and Toledo allpossess large expanses of hunting land,but Toledo wears the crown: not onlyis more than 70% of the province’ssurface area available for hunting, butwithin its borders lie the Montes deToledo, which might be described asthe solar plexus of Spanish huntingculture and gastronomy. The Montesare a chain of modest peaks runningroughly from west to east, a lesser armof the Sistema Central (the mountainrange splitting the Iberian plateau into

two parts) lying to the south of bothMadrid and Toledo.I drove out of Toledo on a freezingwinter morning when snow lay on therooftops of the old town, making for apicturesque scene like something froma Christmas card. Up in the Montes,slush and ice had reduced the roads tobarely passable single tracks. Despitetheir modest scale and closeness tocivilization (you can be there in half anhour from Toledo, and just over anhour from Madrid), the Montes havethe feel of a genuine wilderness.Together with Los Yébenes, Las Ventascon Peña Aguilera (Toledo) is theheartbeat of hunt culture in theMontes de Toledo and may very wellbe the Spanish town with the greatestunderstanding and appreciation of thequalities of game meat. MarianoCastillo of Vencaza, one of the town’sthree warehouses where the animals(in this case, mainly deer and boar) arebrought in after the hunt to bebutchered and prepared for sale orexport, described the situation thus:

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intensively on an enormous scale on ayear-round basis (Spanish gamedepends on the season, from Octoberto February), producing a white meatwith none of the flavor and color ofSpanish venison. According to TomásFernández of Chacinerías Extremeñas,one of Extremadura’s three warehousesspecializing in game, New Zealandaccounts for up to 70% of worldproduction, Spain a mere 10%.Another disadvantage is the lowdemand from the domestic market,effectively requiring Spanish producersto sell elsewhere in Europe, notablyGermany and France. But here there isanother problem: the Germans andFrench are not only notoriously pickyin terms of quality; they can afford tobe aggressive on price. Talking ofprice, Spanish game is currently one ofthe cheapest meats on the market.Absurdly cheap, you might say. As ofDecember 17th 2009 at the Lonja deCaza in Ciudad Real, the country’sonly game meat clearing house, the

price of venison was fixed at 1.50euros per kg (2.2 lb), that of wild boarat 0.7 euros per kg. (Amazingly thisrepresents an increase on the previousyear, when venison was at 0.75 eurosper kg and boar at a derisory 0.30euros per kg.)One course of action seems obvious: toraise the quality bar as high aspossible. Luis Fernando Villanueva isclear about what needs to be done.The association of which Villanueva ispresident, APROCA, brings togetherno less than 425 owners of hunt-basedfincas in the region of Castile-laMancha, representing a surface area of635,000 ha (1.5 million acres).(APROCA at the national levelaccounts for no less than 2.5 millionha / 6.1 million acres.) Villanueva andhis association have been working tocreate a quality seal for game meat,offering a rigorous quality-controlsystem including traceability from thefinca to point of sale. Based on a three-year ongoing research project with the

University of Ciudad Real, the schemecurrently applies only to venison butwill eventually widen to include othergame meats: first wild boar, thenpartridge, rabbit and so on.When I visit APROCA at their office inCiudad Real, Villanueva proves acoherent and vigorous advocate of thebenefits that hunting brings, not onlyin strictly economic terms but in awider social sense. He points to theincome that the hunt generates bothdirectly and indirectly. Furthermore,he suggests, hunting and conservationare mutually co-dependent. Themajority of the protected landscapes inthe south of Spain exist within areas ofprivate hunting land. Investment inand maintenance of this land thereforecontributes to the health of the widerecosystem. Hunt tourism, bringing inforeign hunters in search of anexperience that is not available athome, constitutes a source of incomefor rural communities with few otherforms of economic support.

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“You might go to Segovia (Castile-Leon) to eat suckling pig, and toCáceres to eat Iberico pork, but you goto Ventas con Peña Aguilera to eatgame.” The town lives from the hunt—that much is clear—as you walkamong its grey granite streets. Thewhole place is deer-themed: I sawtaxidermists’ parlors, gun stores,butchers specializing in game meat,and leather shops selling rifle cases,game bags, and the like.Casa Parrilla, the town’s bestrestaurant, follows the commonSpanish prototype of a traditionaleating place brought up to date by theyoung generation, in this case by theson of its founders. Despite remainingloyal to the traditions of the area, themenu at Casa Parrilla shows signs ofrenovation and originality. On the dayI visited, Álvaro Parrilla prepared forme a six-course tasting menubeginning with a robust salad of cecinade jabalí (raw wild boar that is salted,smoked and cured); a dish with the

traditional charcuterie specialties of theMontes de Toledo, with tomato,escarole and quesuco de losNavalmorales cheese; followed bypartridge cannelloni; then deer sirloinwith apricots and pumpkin purée; andfinally a soup and cake of almondswith turrón (almond and honeynougat) ice cream—a trio of variationson the locally grown almond.I drove back to Toledo taking the longway round, along a country road thatwound through a black-and-whitelandscape of snow and dark trees. In acornfield beside the road, gangs ofpeople waving yellow flags weremoving swiftly around the fringes of asnow-covered field, some of them onhorseback. A few seconds later thetruth dawned on me as a flutter ofpartridges hurtled into the road, theirwings whirring. This was a partridgehunt (ojeo in hunting argot), in whichthe birds are driven from theundergrowth into open ground wherethey can more easily be shot.

The drive for qualityThe industry of hunting turns aroundtwo poles: the hunt itself, and the meatresulting from it. The activity, and theproduct. One side of the equation—the business of hunting, the money tobe made from the sale of puestos, andso on—looks to be in good economichealth. At the edible end of the story,the picture is not quite so rosy. TheSpanish game meat industry currentlyhas a series of pressing concerns. Oneis the overwhelming competition fromNew Zealand, the world’s number onegame producer, where deer are reared


concurrently in high-end supermarkets

and delicatessens. APROCA calculatesthat if the Spanish consumer can bepersuaded to eat an average of 1 kg (2.2

lb) of game per year, the campaign willhave been successful. No doubt there

are advantages to working “from alow base”.

Game planIf Spanish game meat is to becomemore widely appreciated, believes

Villanueva, the role of the restaurantwill be crucial. If Spain’s importantchefs can be persuaded to feature gamemeat on their menus, it will offer aunique chance for consumers tobecome acquainted with the product.In fact, this is already happening. Forexample, Toño Pérez and Jose AntonioPolo at the restaurant Atrio (twoMichelin stars, Spain Gourmetour No.68) in Cáceres (Spain Gourmetour No.70) commonly use meats fromExtremadura in such dishes as roast

venison with grapes or roe deer loinwith chestnuts, multigrain bread andred fruits. Manolo de la Osa is loyal tothe red partridge of La Mancha. JuanMari Arzak uses roe deer, HilarioArbelaitz at Zuberoa and PedroSubijana at Akelarre (Spain GourmetourNo. 63) are partial to pigeon, and theMoráns at Casa Gerardo in Asturias (innorthern Spain) make a specialty oftheir rice with hare and woodcock.Perhaps the greatest flag-waver forgame meat among top Spanish chefs is

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The Calidaz scheme (the first qualityseal for game meat in Spain) imposesstrict control on what is by its verynature an unpredictable product. Theprincipal characteristic of game meat isits variability: the quality of the meatdepends on a large range of factors,from the age of the animal to its naturaldiet, the ambient temperature andconditions of the hunt. APROCA’squality seal is more remarkable forwhat it prohibits than what it allows:meat with any sign of damage from

gunshot or dog bites (a perennialproblem for game dealers), or fromanimals hunted during the month ofOctober (when the temperature is oftenhigh enough to bring about prematuredeterioration in the meat), isautomatically excluded. No more thanfive hours may pass from the death ofthe animal until its collection by thewarehouse. Of the 17 warehouses inCastile-La Mancha, only 8 have beenselected to take part in the scheme. Allmeat placed on sale is preselected for

quality (only 10-15% of all animals shoteventually reaching the market) andtraceable at every stage by means of acomputerized barcode system.The scheme is supervised both byAPROCA’s internal audit and by thenational certification body BureauVeritas. There remains one other majorissue to be tackled: the lack of interestin game meat evinced by Spanishconsumers. This year sees the start of amajor campaign in national newspapersand magazines. Products will go on sale

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67

one made with olive oil,” he explains,“so we use that trait to serve lightersweets made with extra virgin olive oilduring the hot summer. Come winter,when the cold means that a heartier,more filling dessert is more appropriate,we include more animal fat.”

A final wordAs in many developments in moderncooking today, old taboos seem tocrumble under examination and thewill to put any worthy ingredient togood use. The potential of extra virginolive oil in any area of the kitchen—even where it traditionally didn’tfeature—is there to be exploited if onedares. With the serenity and level-headedness that is characteristic of theRoca approach, Jordi dispels any fearof using olive oils in confectionery. “Incooking, fats are a necessary element,and extra virgin olive oils are,ultimately, nothing but an aromaticfat.” It’s as simple as that.

Saul Aparicio Hill is a Madrid-basedfreelance journalist and translator whosework as a writer and broadcaster hasappeared in media in Spain, the UK,Ireland, India, Australia and the USA,among other countries.

Websites

· Sweet World (Miguel Sierra)www.miguelsierra.es

· Espai Sucrewww.espaisucre.com

· El Celler de Can Rocawww.cellercanroca.com

Jordi Roca Caramelized apricot(Albaricoque caramelizado)

the apricot pulp. Add the olive oil andboil. Put through a sieve, allow to cool.Once cold, add the egg whites.

Apricot sauce

Make a caramel with the sugar andglucose, stop the cooking process withthe schnapps. Add the butter andcorrect the density with the water.

Ice cream

Heat the cream, milk and invert sugar.Mix all the solids: sugar, dextrose,powdered milk and stabilizer. Add thecream and milk when they are at 70ºC /158ºF. Raise temperature to 85ºC /185ºF. Chill as quickly as possible.Once cold, add the apricot pits andolive oil and put through a blender.Allow to infuse for 12 hours in arefrigerator at 4ºC / 39.2ºF.

Blown fondant

Cook the sugars to 150ºC / 302ºF, addthe citric acid and raise the temperatureto 160ºC / 320ºF. Stretch out on siliconpaper. Compress into a ball and stretchout again 20 times. Cut into small, 1 cm/ 0.4 in balls, and with the aid of apump, blow into small apricot shapes.Cut off the tip that joins them to thepump and keep away from humidity.

To serve

Draw a line of apricot sauce, place aquenelle of apricot pit ice cream on oneside on the plate. On the other, place acaramel ball, filled with the apricot foam(using a siphon).

Preparation time

130 minutes

After many years of work, El Cellerde Can Roca finally received a well-earned third star in the latest editionof The Michelin Guide, confirmingwhat many already knew: that itwas one of the great restaurantsof the world. The recipe providedby Jordi Roca is typical of theRocas’ cuisine: delicate balance,a preoccupation with preservingand intensifying the flavors ofnatural ingredients, and exquisitevisual presentation.

SERVES 4

For the warm apricot foam: 100 g/ 3 1/2 oz sugar; 500 g / 1 lb 2 ozapricot pulp; 50 g / 2 oz extra virginolive oil; 325 g / 11 oz pasteurizedegg whites.

For the apricot sauce: 100 g / 31/2 oz sugar; 50 g / 2 oz glucose;24 g / 1 oz apricot liqueur; 25 g /1 oz butter; 100 g / 3 1/2 water.

For the apricot pit and olive oilice cream: 50 g / 2 oz cream; 300g / 10 1/2 oz milk; 25 g / 1 oz invertsugar; 50 g / 2 oz sugar; 20 g /1 oz powdered milk; 24 g / 1 ozdextrose; 2 g / 0.07 oz ice creamstabilizer; 50 g / 2 oz extra virginolive oil; 5 apricot pits.

For the blown fondant:250 g / 9 oz fondant; 125 g / 4 1/2oz glucose; 125 g / 4 1/2 isomalt;10 g / 1/3 oz 50% citric solution.

Warm apricot foam

Make a caramel with the sugar andstop the cooking process by adding

Jord

iRoc

a


concurrently in high-end supermarkets

and delicatessens. APROCA calculatesthat if the Spanish consumer can bepersuaded to eat an average of 1 kg (2.2

lb) of game per year, the campaign willhave been successful. No doubt there

are advantages to working “from alow base”.

Game planIf Spanish game meat is to becomemore widely appreciated, believes

Villanueva, the role of the restaurantwill be crucial. If Spain’s importantchefs can be persuaded to feature gamemeat on their menus, it will offer aunique chance for consumers tobecome acquainted with the product.In fact, this is already happening. Forexample, Toño Pérez and Jose AntonioPolo at the restaurant Atrio (twoMichelin stars, Spain Gourmetour No.68) in Cáceres (Spain Gourmetour No.70) commonly use meats fromExtremadura in such dishes as roast

venison with grapes or roe deer loinwith chestnuts, multigrain bread andred fruits. Manolo de la Osa is loyal tothe red partridge of La Mancha. JuanMari Arzak uses roe deer, HilarioArbelaitz at Zuberoa and PedroSubijana at Akelarre (Spain GourmetourNo. 63) are partial to pigeon, and theMoráns at Casa Gerardo in Asturias (innorthern Spain) make a specialty oftheir rice with hare and woodcock.Perhaps the greatest flag-waver forgame meat among top Spanish chefs is

78 79

FOODBASICS

The Calidaz scheme (the first qualityseal for game meat in Spain) imposesstrict control on what is by its verynature an unpredictable product. Theprincipal characteristic of game meat isits variability: the quality of the meatdepends on a large range of factors,from the age of the animal to its naturaldiet, the ambient temperature andconditions of the hunt. APROCA’squality seal is more remarkable forwhat it prohibits than what it allows:meat with any sign of damage from

gunshot or dog bites (a perennialproblem for game dealers), or fromanimals hunted during the month ofOctober (when the temperature is oftenhigh enough to bring about prematuredeterioration in the meat), isautomatically excluded. No more thanfive hours may pass from the death ofthe animal until its collection by thewarehouse. Of the 17 warehouses inCastile-La Mancha, only 8 have beenselected to take part in the scheme. Allmeat placed on sale is preselected for

quality (only 10-15% of all animals shoteventually reaching the market) andtraceable at every stage by means of acomputerized barcode system.The scheme is supervised both byAPROCA’s internal audit and by thenational certification body BureauVeritas. There remains one other majorissue to be tackled: the lack of interestin game meat evinced by Spanishconsumers. This year sees the start of amajor campaign in national newspapersand magazines. Products will go on sale

GAME MEAT



64 65

FOODBASICS

OLIVE OIL








Green olive foam



Green olive caramel



To serve


Preparation time

210 minutes


SERVES 4












80

Abraham García of Viridiana inMadrid, where you might find,depending on the time of year, suchdelicacies as casserole of turtledovewith lentils, loin of venison with amustard sauce, wild boar sirloin stuffedwith Torta del Casar cheese, wholesong thrushes crisp-fried and served ongazpacho andaluz (cold vegetable soup),or civet of hare with chocolate.A morning walk around Toledo’shistoric old town was just what wasneeded to set me up for lunch inanother fine restaurant that is doing allit can to showcase the excellence oflocal game. The dining room at CasaAdolfo, flagship of a well-knownrestaurant group that includes LaPerdiz, Cigarral Santa Maria and thedesigner Adolfo Colección, is housedon the first floor of a 14th-centuryJewish mansion with a magnificentpainted artesonado (coffered) ceiling.

For as long as anyone can remember,one of the pillars of the menu at CasaAdolfo has been locally-shot game.Even in a city with a fondness for suchthings, the Adolfo group gets throughan awful lot of game: 8,000 partridgesa year, to be precise, and 500 deer, 20roe deer, and 1,000 turtledoves. Mytasting menu today was a series ofvariations on the theme, what withrisotto of song thrush, partridge twoways (the leg stewed, and the breastgrilled), and a sirloin of deer as tenderand flavorsome as the best sirloin ofIberico pork.After lunch I sat with Adolfo Muñozover a glass of muscatel, discussing theproblem of low domestic demand forSpanish game.It’s a problem of unfamiliarity, Adolfobelieves. Until people try it, theyworry. “Won't it be a little strong?” theysay. Presented with a stewed partridge

or a juicy loin of venison, such worriessoon disappear. They might betempted to try it again. They mighteven start looking for partridge orvenison in their local supermarket, andif it carries the Calidaz seal, so muchthe better. Word spreads that thesemeats are not only natural, healthy andvirtually fat-free, but have a rich andhaunting aroma. And another once-undervalued Spanish product finallybegins to be valued at its true worth.The secret, as ever, is knowing how toplay the game.

Paul Richardson lives on a farm innorthern Extremadura. A freelance traveland food writer, he is the author of A LateDinner: Discovering the Food of Spain(Bloomsbury, UK and Scribner, USA).

Restaurante Adolfo

c/ de la Granada 8,c/ Hombre de Palo 7ToledoTel.: (+34) 925 252 472/(+34) 925 227 321

www.grupoadolfo.com

Casa Apelio

c/ Real Arriba 1Los Yébenes (Toledo)Tel.: (+34) 925 320 419

www.hostalcasaapelio.com

Restaurante Viridiana

c/ Juan de Mena 14MadridTel.: (+34) 915 311 039

www.restauranteviridiana.com

Jesús Gutiérrez “Faustino”

c/ Real Abajo, 61 and 63Los Yébenes (Toledo)Tel.: (+34) 696 706 463Fax: (+34) 925 320 264

www.jgutierrezcarnecaza.com

RestauranteCasa Parrilla

Avda. de Toledo 3Ventas con PeñaAguilera (Toledo)Tel.: (+34) 925 418 207

www.casaparrilla.es

RESTAURANTSASSOCIATION

APROCACastilla-La Mancha

(Asociación de PropietariosRurales para la GestiónCinegética y Conservación delMedio Ambiente)

c/ Paz 10Ciudad RealTel.: (+34) 926 232 029

www.aprocaclm.org


80





Restaurante Adolfo


www.grupoadolfo.com

Casa Apelio











www.casaparrilla.es





www.aprocaclm.org



Restaurante Torre deSandeCalle de los Condes, 310003 CáceresTel.: (+34) 927 211 147www.torredesande.com

IntroductionMaría Moneo/©ICEX

TranslationJenny McDonald/©ICEX

Photos, introductionTomás Zarza/©ICEX

Photos, recipesToya Legido/©ICEX

RestauranteTorre de SandeCésar Ráez

RECIPESBased on typical recipes from Extremadura (a region in the southwest of Spain), thecuisine produced by César Ráez that has placed his restaurant amongst the topestablishments in Cáceres is an exquisite blend of the local produce with his ownpersonal touches. His menus regularly feature retinto beef, mushrooms, Iberico porkand, of course, game, one of his specialties alongside rice dishes. I n 2009, Ráez setup a Cooking Workshop, allowing lovers of gastronomy to learn the basic skills, findout about culinary research or pick up the finer points of Extremaduran cuisine. And,if unable to attend his classes, they can always dip into his book Cocina de Caza(Cooking Game), which in 2006 won him the Gourmand World Cookbook Award forthe best book on local Spanish cooking (Spain Gourmetour No. 70). In it, he givessuggestions for using the products of the countryside and hunting trophies with creativityand imagination. Torre de Sande is known not only for its excellent cuisine but also forits landmark location in one of the historic towers of Cáceres. The restaurant’s customersinclude Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte (1951) who mentions it in his novel LaReina del Sur (Alfaguara, 2002), when the book’s main character visits this town. Togive recommendations on wines to accompany the dishes featured here, César Ráezasked for the advice of local oenologist Antonio Garzón.

08 RECETAS AF.qxd 26/3/10 02:58 Página 82

84

GAME MEAT

Venison is one of the most importantlarge game trophies in Extremadura.The sirloin is generally consideredthe prime cut because it offers all thebest characteristics of venison: it isvery tender, bright red and reveals allthe flavor of the open air.

SERVES 4For the sirloin: 400 g / 14 oz venison sirloin;

100 ml / 1/2 cup red wine; 100 ml / 1/2 cup

extra virgin olive oil; salt; pepper.

For the jelly: 300 g / 10 1/2 oz pineapple;

100 ml / 1/2 cup coconut milk; 100 g / 3 1/2

oz sugar; 2 tbsp powdered gelatin; 100 g / 3

1/2 oz grated coconut.

Venison sirloinBrush the trimmed sirloin with oliveoil and wrap in plastic wrap, forminga cylinder shape. Freeze. Remove thewrapping and sauté, withoutdefrosting, in oil with salt andpepper. Remove, cut off the tips andset aside. Add the wine to the panjuices and reduce well.

Jelly infusionLiquidize the pineapple and add thecoconut milk and sugar to make aninfusion. Add the gelatin. Mix,transfer to a round mold and leave toset for half an hour. Turn out andcover both top and bottom of thejelly with grated coconut.

To servePlace the sirloin at the center of theplate and the pineapple jelly to oneside. Add a little of the reduced wineand meat juices and finish with athyme flower and pineapple crisp.

Preparation time30 minutes for the sirloin; 40minutes for the jelly.

Cooking time10 minutes

Recommended wineMonastrell Crianza 2007 (DOJumilla), by Bodegas Juan Gil. Longaging brings out the full flavors ofthis complex, well-balanced Jumillawine. Its long aftertaste is reminiscentof the rough terrain it comes from,tying in well with the venison.

Venisonsirloin with a pineapple and coconut infusion(Solomillo de venado con infusiónde piña y coco)


87

The constant activity of the hareenables it to develop strong legmuscles, making the thighs the mostaromatic and flavorsome part. But agood marinade is needed and asmuch blood as possible should becollected so that the dish can beproperly finished.

SERVES 4For the hare leg ballotine: 2 hare thighs; 50

g / 2 oz fresh foie gras; 200 g / 7 oz melon; 2

egg yolks; 1 tbsp white breadcrumbs; 100 ml

/ 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 200 ml / 3/4

cups of port; salt; pepper.

For the grilled melon: 200 g / 7 oz melon; 50

g / 2 oz sugar.

Others: 100 ml / 1/2 cup hare’s blood.

Hare leg ballotineBone the thighs, cut into fourportions and flatten to make as thinas possible. Fill with any meattrimmings, the foie gras, 200 g / 7 ozof chopped melon, egg yolks andbreadcrumbs. Using plastic wrap,form each thigh into a ball shape.Place in a vacuum pack with the portand a little oil. Bake for 4 hours at80ºC / 176ºF. When cooked, removefrom the bag, drain and brown in theoven for 15 minutes with oil.Meanwhile, reduce the cookingjuices from the vacuum pack.

Grilled melonCut the melon into small dice. Dipin sugar and grill.

To serveServe the hare leg ballotine at thecenter of the dish and add the portreduction and the blood. To oneside, serve the grilled melon anddecorate the dish with aromaticherbs and flower petals.

Preparation time25 minutes

Cooking timeApproximately 4 hours

Recommended wineCuatro Pasos 2007 (DO Bierzo),by Bodegas Martín Códax. Thiswine is aged in the barrel for justtwo months. It has an intense aromaof red berries and wood and theflavor is mild and pleasant, makingit an excellent partner for anytype of game.

Ballotine of

hare leg with grilled melon(Ballotina de pierna de liebrecon melón a la parrilla)

RECIPES


88

GAME MEAT

This may well be one of the oldest ofmonastic recipes. It was found in thelate 17th-century in the San Benito deAlcántara Convent in Cáceres. Theupdated version includes three top-ranking culinary products: blacktruffle, foie gras and port. The resultis a very aromatic dish with a hint ofsweetness that comes from the longcooking, similar to what happenswith chocolate.

SERVES 44 partridges; 20 g / 1 oz truffle; 200 g / 7 oz

foie gras; 1 l / 4 1/4 cup port; 50 g / 2 oz

duck lard; salt; pepper.

Stuff the partridges with the foie grasand truffle and marinate in the portfor 12 hours. Drain, then brown inthe duck lard over a high flame.Transfer to an oven dish, pour over alittle port, cover and cook in theoven for three hours at 175ºC /347ºF. When cooked, remove thepartridges from the cooking dish andreduce the sauce.

To serveServe the whole partridge at thecenter of the plate, opening it up alittle to reveal the filling. Alsoseparate the breast from the leg.Season with salt and pepper and adda little of the reduced cooking juices.Decorate with a petunia flower budand a cardoon.

Preparation time12 hours to marinate the partridge.

Cooking timeApproximately 3 hours

Recommended wineSotorrondero 2007 (DO Méntrida),by Bodegas Jiménez-Landi. This is asurprising, young red wine made fromSyrah and Garnacha grapes and agedfor 10 months in oak barrels. Brightmaroon in color and with plenty ofbody, it is an aromatic wine that issmooth on the palate. The tannins inthe long aftertaste complement thisexquisite, timeless dish.

Partridge in the classic Alcántara style(Perdiz al modo de Alcántara clásica)


91

RECIPES

The thrush is one of the liveliestand smallest of game birds. Itsdiet is varied, but thrushes inExtremadura especially love tofeed on olives, which makes theirmeat tasty and firm.

SERVES 4For the marinated thrush: 4 thrushes; 4 very

ripe tomatoes; 25 ml / 2 tbsp olive oil; 25 ml /

2 tbsp sherry vinegar; salt; pepper.

For the gazpacho water soup: 250 ml / 1

1/8 cups water; 25 g / 2 tbsp tapioca; 2 very

ripe tomatoes; 1/2 green pepper; 1/2 onion; 1

clove garlic; 25 ml / 2 tbsp olive oil; 25 ml / 2

tbsp sherry vinegar.

Marinated thrushCook the thrushes with the otheringredients over a high flame for 30minutes. Remove the thrushes, andpour the liquid through a chinois.

Gazpacho water soupCook 25 g / 2 tbsp tapioca with250 ml / 1 1/8 cups of water for20 minutes. Add the tomatoes,green pepper, onion, garlic, oliveoil and sherry vinegar and leave tostand for 12 hours. Strain througha very fine strainer.

To servePour some of the thickened souptogether with diced tomatoes,onions and peppers over the baseof a plate. Place the thrush on topand add a little of the cooking liquid.Decorate with aromatic herbs andsome wild berries.

Preparation time12 hours

Cooking time30 minutes

Recommended wineVizcarra 2007. A red crianza (DORibera del Duero), by BodegasVizcarra Ramos, aged for six monthsin the barrel. This is a clear, brightred wine with floral aromas and redberry fruity flavors. It is verypleasant in the mouth.

Gazpacho water soup

with marinated thrush(Sopa de agua de gazpachocon zorzal marinado)


92

GAME MEAT

This is a dish that used to be servedat special gatherings of family andfriends, so, for the locals, it isreminiscent of good times and goodcompany. The unusual combinationof ingredients is today cooked in adifferent way, but the flavors blendwell on the palate. This is traditionalcooking based on the best of localproduce.

SERVES 44 turtledoves; 1 onion; 1 bay leaf; 1 red

pepper; 1 green pepper; rind of 1 lemon; 100

ml / 1/2 cup olive oil; 100 ml / 1/2 cup white

wine; 100 ml / 1/2 cup white wine vinegar; 2

cloves garlic; 300 g / 10 1/2 oz flaked salt

cod; 4 eggs; salt.

Cook the turtledoves with the onion,bay leaf, red pepper, green pepper,lemon rind, oil, white wine, vinegar,garlic and salt for two hours. Whencooked, remove the turtledove andvegetables and reduce the cookingliquid. Add the flaked cod to thereduced liquid and confit over verylow heat for five minutes.Meanwhile, cook the eggs for thirtyminutes but without letting thewater boil.

To serveArrange all the vegetables at thecenter of the plate, add the cod andthen top with the turtledove and thelow-temperature cooked egg cut inhalf. Finally, drizzle the dish with thereduction and decorate with a bayleaf, thyme and lemon rind.

Preparation time2 hours to cook the turtledoves; 30minutes to cook the low-temperatureeggs; 20 minutes to complete thedish.

Recommended wineSan Román 2005 (DO Toro), byBodegas y Viñedos Maurodos.Twenty-two months in the barrelmakes this a powerful, aromaticwine with a rounded acidity. It isfresh and long in the mouth withcomplex, lingering aromas.

Extremaduraescabeche of turtledovewith cod and low-temperature egg(Escabechera extremeña de tórtola y bacalaocon huevo a baja temperatura)



BUSINESSWATCH

Jesús Barquín and Eduardo Ojeda areexceptionally modest about theirEquipo Navazos project. “The volumeswe market are negligible,” notes Ojeda,“we are talking about minisculequantities.” Barquín adds, “We are aninsignificant drop in the bucketcompared to what the bodegas sell,and without the bodegas, we would benothing.” It is only once they havethoroughly talked down their effortsthat Barquín throws in, “We want to bea drop. We could only ever be just adrop; nevertheless, for us the project isa very important and serious affair.”Since 2006, Equipo Navazos hasmarketed fortified wines from the DOsJerez and Montilla-Moriles inAndalusia (southern Spain) andattracted ever more attention fromconnoisseurs around the world.Currently, there are four to fiveeditions each year, but in very limitedquantities. The largest to date was4,400 bottles, the smallest only 200bottles, each containing 37.5 cL. The20 editions have included Finos andAmontillados, Manzanillas andOlorosos, Palos Cortados, Creams andPedro Ximénez wines, i.e. virtually theentire range of sherries. Each edition iscalled “La Bota de…”, meaning “Caskfrom…”, a reference to the 600-l casksmade of North American oakcommonly used in the region. Thelabel on each bottle indicates the typeand precise origin of each sherry,because Equipo Navazos itselfproduces nothing. They “find” theirtreasures in the cellars of well-known

bodegas. The team purchasesindividual casks, or even exactlydefined quantities thereof, from thevarious bodegas and then markets thesherry under its own name, again withthe precise indication of the origin.The company is based less on abusiness plan than on a passion forsherry. In December 2005, Barquín,Ojeda and Álvaro Girón (the thirdmember of the inner circle) visited theantique Bodega Sánchez Ayala inSanlúcar de Barrameda. Sanlúcar, Jerezde la Frontera and El Puerto de SantaMaría are the three towns in whichsherry may be aged. As experiencedand well-known visitors, the threemen could taste the wine fromdifferent production years directlyfrom the casks. The wines were drawnwith a venencia, a sort of large, metallictest tube with a long, curved stem.During the tasting, the three men

stumbled across a few casks of oldAmontillado that were clearly notintended for any product linesmarketed by the bodega, and thus hadaged in peace for years. “Such wineswere simply not available on themarket,” said Jesús Barquín, “and wewere not content with just a few sips.”Thus was born the idea of purchasingan entire cask from the bodega.Barquín, Ojeda and Girón calledaround and found enough interestedpeople among friends and professionalacquaintances to cover the investment,and finally convinced Sánchez Ayala tosell the cask for a private edition. Inthe beginning, the point was solely toshare a very personal luxury amongconnoisseurs. The 600 bottles of “LaBota de Amontillado No. 1” were splitbetween some 40 enthusiasts; not asingle one was sold commercially. Thesecond edition, comprising 800 bottlesof a particularly well-aged Fino fromBodegas Valdespino in Jerez, was also apurely private affair.

Three hunters,three brothersIt was only for the third Bota, a PedroXiménez that had aged for decades andbecome increasingly concentrated,from Bodegas Pérez Barquero inMontilla, that the professional winemerchants in the large Navazos circleof friends asked if they could sell a fewof the bottles. Ojeda and Barquíntransmitted the request, and PérezBarquero saw no objection as long as

TEXTMERTEN WORTHMANN/©ICEX

TRANSLATIONSYNONYME.NET/©ICEX

PHOTOSEQUIPO NAVAZOS


NAVAZOSWines from Jerez were already top international products before anyone thoughtseriously about exporting Spanish red wines, but the durable success of thetintos appears to have overshadowed the Jerez name somewhat. A smallgroup of connoisseurs and enthusiasts is now making waves around the worldwith limited editions from selected sherry casks. Equipo Navazos has beenrummaging through the cellars of several bodegas and come up with somefantastic Finos, Amontillados, Palo Cortados and Pedro Ximénez, and thenbottled them under their own name. The bodegas are participating becausethe joint effort serves to enhance the reputation of the region as a whole. MertenWorthmann met with the founders of Equipo Navazos, Jesús Barquín andEduardo Ojeda, in Jerez.

EquipoTreasureHunters

09 EQUIPO NAVAZOS AF.qxd 30/3/10 21:16 Página 94


Restaurante Torre deSandeCalle de los Condes, 310003 CáceresTel.: (+34) 927 211 147www.torredesande.com

IntroductionMaría Moneo/©ICEX

TranslationJenny McDonald/©ICEX

Photos, introductionTomás Zarza/©ICEX

Photos, recipesToya Legido/©ICEX

RestauranteTorre de SandeCésar Ráez

RECIPESBased on typical recipes from Extremadura (a region in the southwest of Spain), thecuisine produced by César Ráez that has placed his restaurant amongst the topestablishments in Cáceres is an exquisite blend of the local produce with his ownpersonal touches. His menus regularly feature retinto beef, mushrooms, Iberico porkand, of course, game, one of his specialties alongside rice dishes. I n 2009, Ráez setup a Cooking Workshop, allowing lovers of gastronomy to learn the basic skills, findout about culinary research or pick up the finer points of Extremaduran cuisine. And,if unable to attend his classes, they can always dip into his book Cocina de Caza(Cooking Game), which in 2006 won him the Gourmand World Cookbook Award forthe best book on local Spanish cooking (Spain Gourmetour No. 70). In it, he givessuggestions for using the products of the countryside and hunting trophies with creativityand imagination. Torre de Sande is known not only for its excellent cuisine but also forits landmark location in one of the historic towers of Cáceres. The restaurant’s customersinclude Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte (1951) who mentions it in his novel LaReina del Sur (Alfaguara, 2002), when the book’s main character visits this town. Togive recommendations on wines to accompany the dishes featured here, César Ráezasked for the advice of local oenologist Antonio Garzón.



BUSINESSWATCH

Jesús Barquín and Eduardo Ojeda areexceptionally modest about theirEquipo Navazos project. “The volumeswe market are negligible,” notes Ojeda,“we are talking about minisculequantities.” Barquín adds, “We are aninsignificant drop in the bucketcompared to what the bodegas sell,and without the bodegas, we would benothing.” It is only once they havethoroughly talked down their effortsthat Barquín throws in, “We want to bea drop. We could only ever be just adrop; nevertheless, for us the project isa very important and serious affair.”Since 2006, Equipo Navazos hasmarketed fortified wines from the DOsJerez and Montilla-Moriles inAndalusia (southern Spain) andattracted ever more attention fromconnoisseurs around the world.Currently, there are four to fiveeditions each year, but in very limitedquantities. The largest to date was4,400 bottles, the smallest only 200bottles, each containing 37.5 cL. The20 editions have included Finos andAmontillados, Manzanillas andOlorosos, Palos Cortados, Creams andPedro Ximénez wines, i.e. virtually theentire range of sherries. Each edition iscalled “La Bota de…”, meaning “Caskfrom…”, a reference to the 600-l casksmade of North American oakcommonly used in the region. Thelabel on each bottle indicates the typeand precise origin of each sherry,because Equipo Navazos itselfproduces nothing. They “find” theirtreasures in the cellars of well-known

bodegas. The team purchasesindividual casks, or even exactlydefined quantities thereof, from thevarious bodegas and then markets thesherry under its own name, again withthe precise indication of the origin.The company is based less on abusiness plan than on a passion forsherry. In December 2005, Barquín,Ojeda and Álvaro Girón (the thirdmember of the inner circle) visited theantique Bodega Sánchez Ayala inSanlúcar de Barrameda. Sanlúcar, Jerezde la Frontera and El Puerto de SantaMaría are the three towns in whichsherry may be aged. As experiencedand well-known visitors, the threemen could taste the wine fromdifferent production years directlyfrom the casks. The wines were drawnwith a venencia, a sort of large, metallictest tube with a long, curved stem.During the tasting, the three men

stumbled across a few casks of oldAmontillado that were clearly notintended for any product linesmarketed by the bodega, and thus hadaged in peace for years. “Such wineswere simply not available on themarket,” said Jesús Barquín, “and wewere not content with just a few sips.”Thus was born the idea of purchasingan entire cask from the bodega.Barquín, Ojeda and Girón calledaround and found enough interestedpeople among friends and professionalacquaintances to cover the investment,and finally convinced Sánchez Ayala tosell the cask for a private edition. Inthe beginning, the point was solely toshare a very personal luxury amongconnoisseurs. The 600 bottles of “LaBota de Amontillado No. 1” were splitbetween some 40 enthusiasts; not asingle one was sold commercially. Thesecond edition, comprising 800 bottlesof a particularly well-aged Fino fromBodegas Valdespino in Jerez, was also apurely private affair.

Three hunters,three brothersIt was only for the third Bota, a PedroXiménez that had aged for decades andbecome increasingly concentrated,from Bodegas Pérez Barquero inMontilla, that the professional winemerchants in the large Navazos circleof friends asked if they could sell a fewof the bottles. Ojeda and Barquíntransmitted the request, and PérezBarquero saw no objection as long as

TEXTMERTEN WORTHMANN/©ICEX

TRANSLATIONSYNONYME.NET/©ICEX

PHOTOSEQUIPO NAVAZOS


NAVAZOSWines from Jerez were already top international products before anyone thoughtseriously about exporting Spanish red wines, but the durable success of thetintos appears to have overshadowed the Jerez name somewhat. A smallgroup of connoisseurs and enthusiasts is now making waves around the worldwith limited editions from selected sherry casks. Equipo Navazos has beenrummaging through the cellars of several bodegas and come up with somefantastic Finos, Amontillados, Palo Cortados and Pedro Ximénez, and thenbottled them under their own name. The bodegas are participating becausethe joint effort serves to enhance the reputation of the region as a whole. MertenWorthmann met with the founders of Equipo Navazos, Jesús Barquín andEduardo Ojeda, in Jerez.

EquipoTreasureHunters


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Restaurante Adolfo


www.grupoadolfo.com

Casa Apelio











www.casaparrilla.es





www.aprocaclm.org


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the label clearly indicated where thePedro Ximénez came from. At any rate,it would not have made much sensefor the bodega to market a specialbatch of just a few hundred bottles,out of 800 in total. The huntersBarquín and Ojeda were also open tothe idea of a few, trusted merchantsselling part of the edition. But theywanted to avoid any personalimplication in the commercial aspects.And that is the way things run, eventoday. Barquín, Ojeda and occasionallyGirón select the wines, the members ofthe circle each order as they see fit andthe professional partners most oftenreceive a larger share, particularly forthe most “popular” editions of Finoand Manzanilla.Over 60% of the marketed wines areexported from Spain. Coalla Gourmetfrom Gijón (in Asturias) is in charge oforganizing export activities. There arenow specialized suppliers in the US,the UK, Singapore and Swedenoffering Navazos editions. All aresherry enthusiasts and sell their fewbottles more in the spirit of theirpassion than as a business venture.Talks are currently under way withpotential partners in Italy, Denmarkand Canada, because internationaldemand is steadily growing. The onlyquestion is how many suppliers can beserved by such a small quantity.At this point, we should perhapsreiterate that the three main initiatorsof Equipo Navazos earn nothing fortheir work with the team. At most,they gain recognition in Spanish andinternational wine circles. In “real life”,they continue with their normal jobs.Girón is a science historian in

Barcelona, Barquín is a professor ofpenal law in Granada and Ojeda isemployed as an oenologist in Jerez.Above and beyond his academicachievements, Barquín is obviouslyacknowledged as an internationalexpert on sherry; he writes regularlyfor the British magazine The World of

Fine Wine and has contributed to anumber of books by Hugh Johnson,including 1001 Wines You Must Taste

Before You Die. Barquín says: “I lovegreat wines from all over the world,but for me, Jerez is the best. And thetradition of wine growing in thisregion goes back over 2,000 years,which in itself is intellectuallystimulating.” Girón encounteredBarquín via wine discussion groups onthe internet, and Ojeda met him at awine fair. The oenologist wasoverwhelmed with so many highly-detailed questions from Barquínduring a presentation that he offered tomeet with him afterwards. This was

the beginning of a wonderfulfriendship. Even today, the threealmost always agree on everythingabout sherry. “We are soul brothers,”says Ojeda and Barquín adds, “Whenin doubt, we each point out the littlethings to the others, the details thatthey may not have picked up on.”

Sherry, theunknown wine witha great reputationTheir sincere passion has opened notonly the doors of the bodegas, but alsothe casks. “Jesús Barquín and EduardoOjeda are the two people in the worldwho best understand the vinosgenerosos from Andalusia,” says RafaelDelgado, export manager for BodegasPérez Barquero, during a tour of thedifferent cellars at the bodega. EquipoNavazos tasted the wine in many ofthe dark, old casks, covered with thechalked markings of the cellar master’scomplex management system, beforethey brought out the two PedroXiménez editions to date. “Theeditions from Equipo Navazos areoutstanding proof of the exceptionalquality of local wines,” notes Delgado.“They put our region back in thespotlight, and when our casks areamong those selected, the internationalreputation of the bodega is enhanced.”Andrés Soto Cebrian, director ofBodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla inJerez, is of the same opinion. “JesúsBarquín is not paid by the sherryindustry. He is honest and veryindependent in his judgment. It isprecisely for that reason that everyone


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BUSINESSWATCH

in Jerez 4,500 bottles of a non-fortifiedwhite wine using Palomino-Finograpes. It is a remarkable experimentand a tribute to the history of theregion because in the 1700s, it wasstill highly common not to fortify thewines intended for local consumption.By the way, anyone trying to find a“Bota” from Equipo Navazos in Jerezwill come up empty handed. Theeditions are not available in thetraditional sherry region and the twoleaders of the Navazos team find thatperfectly normal. “We work with thebodegas, not against them,” observesBarquín. “It is precisely here in theregion that we want to avoid beingseen as a competitor.” Ojeda adds,“And besides, what could we add tothe ancestral wealth of wines here inJerez? The whole point is to blaze newtrails out in the rest of the world.”

Merten Worthmann lives in Barcelona.He is a member of the GermanWeltreporter network and writes forvarious newspapers and magazines onculture, travel and fine dining. His bookGebrauchsanweisung für Barcelona(Barcelona: Instructions Manual) wasrecently published by Piper Verlag.

Website

· www.equiponavazos.comTasting notes from each edition ofLa Bota and current contactinformation for distributors abroad.(Catalan, English, Spanish)

98 99

A white wine fromthe 1700sThe treasure hunters from EquipoNavazos are of course particularlyinterested in the oldest botas, in caskshidden away in corners, in wines thatare wildly complex or excitinglyunusual. However, they also defendthe day-in day-out work of the majorbrands and their continuously highquality. Barquín observes that “A Fino,such as the well-known Tio Pepe, is atruly exceptional and reasonably-priced wine for its market segment.”That is why the very special editionsfrom Equipo Navazos in fact representthe entire sherry sector, the greatwealth of the DOs Jerez and Montilla-Moriles. Their exclusiveness isinclusive in that they are attempting,in a new manner, to raise awareness ofa cultural heritage built up overcenturies. Ojeda personally representsthat inclusiveness because, as theproduction manager for Bodegas JoséEstévez, he works with Amontilladosand Pedro Ximénez sherries in theVORS (Very Old Rare Sherry) classthat are stored in the cellars of theValdespino subsidiary, as well as withpopular brands such as La Guita, aManzanilla, or Inocente, the in-housecompetition for Tio Pepe. Valdespinoand La Guita have each provided botasfor Navazos editions, with a minimumof red tape, one would assume!The team has other partnerships intheir sights. “The more the merrier,”say both Barquín and Ojeda, thoughthe number of editions each yearremain fairly stable. They wantdiversity. “A diverse and new offering

is important in wine markets today,”notes Barquín. “Wine is not like breador yogurt, which should always tastethe same. Someone who likes winewants to compare regions, terroirs,years and bodegas, and they want totaste the difference. Otherwise, it isboring.” They are even willing toencourage disputes. Ojeda says, “InJerez, there is the eternal Fino debatebetween the devotees of Tio Pepe, LaIna and Inocente. It is like soccer: andwe want more of it, that is why westrive for a diverse offering.” Theeditions from Equipo Navazos showwhat is possible, including estatewines, special editions of surprisingand unique Solera wines, and bottlingwith minimal filtering to ensure thatthe impression of drinking from a botais preserved as much as possible in thebottle. And on the side, Barquín andOjeda have launched a very unusualproject. With Dirk Niepoort, aNavazos member from Portugal andan internationally-recognized Portproducer, they just finished preparing

BUSINESSWATCH

respects him.” Edition 17, “La Bota dePalo Cortado” came from the cellars ofFernando de Castilla, located in theheart of the traditional sherry region ofJerez, and was awarded 99 points outof 100 by Guía Peñin, the mostimportant wine guide in Spain.“Equipo Navazos is fighting to upholdthe prestige of our DO,” says Soto,“and their work represents a veryspecial quality label that draws theattention of the market to hiddentreasures. The bonds between me,other producers, Barquín and Ojedaare based not only on friendship, butalso on the awareness that we are allon the same mission.”For the two leaders of EquipoNavazos, teamwork in fact meansmuch more than a lot of fun andexciting discoveries in the cellars.Each bottle must reveal the fullpotential of the wines from Jerez andMontilla because Barquín and Ojedahave often observed that, although thename sherry is known and respectedaround the world, very few people are

capable of appreciating what thebodegas currently have to offer.Barquín explains, “I’m occasionallyat informal meetings of real wineconnoisseurs where everyone bringsa few special bottles along. And oursherries are regularly the big surprise.Some of the people there simplycannot believe it. Later, they write mee-mails saying I’m truly ashamed tosay how little I knew...”Red and white wines from Spain areregularly in the news, year after year.In comparison, the wonderful sherrytradition appears to have taken a backseat, even though the Solera techniquewith the characteristic yeasts is uniqueworldwide. In a nutshell, Palomino-Fino grapes are grown in the whitish,very chalky Albariza soil to producean 11 to 12% white wine must. Afterfermenting, it is fortified to 15% forFino, Manzanilla and Amontillado,and up to 17.5% for Oloroso. Thenew wines are then aged in casks thatare only five sixths filled. In a 15%wine, that results in the formation of

a special yeast layer, the flor, thatblocks the wine off from oxygen andat the same time produces the typicalsherry taste. In an Amontillado, this“biological” ageing is generallyfollowed by a long period of“oxidized” ageing. In an Oloroso,however, no flor is used for ageing.During the production process, thewines travel through a number ofcasks. Only a third of the sherry maybe drawn from a “mature” cask. Theremoved third is replaced with sherryfrom a cask one year younger, whichitself receives sherry from a cask stillone year younger, etc. Three steps, i.e.three years minimum, are mandatory.But there are also 8-year Finos, over20-year Amontillados and over 30-year Palo Cortados, the very rareand highly controversial mixtures ofAmontillado and Oloroso with theirspecific nuances. It follows that theyear indicated on a bottle is not theyear the grapes were harvested, butis generally the average age of thewines in the cask.


“Hola, ¿qué tal?”… That’s how my visitstarts, just as if I were entering a bar inSpain, but the difference is thelanguage I hear around me: Japanese.I’m in the Tio Danjo bar in the Ebisudistrict of Tokyo, one of the manyvaried bars and restaurants in the areasurrounding the station. But if it’sSpain you’re looking for, you’ve cometo the right place.As I approach, I see a lively groupchatting, glass in hand; on the table,placed atop an old barrel, is a winebottle with a selection of tapas. Onceinside, the atmosphere is just what youwould expect in a bar in Spain.Hanging from the walls are porksausages and hams, and along thecounter next to the beer taps are thetypical ham slicing racks, a range ofwines and an appetizing display oftapas. A large blackboard lists thedrinks available: cava, manzanilla, twosherries, three white wines and threereds, cider and sangria. The wineselection changes frequently, but todaythe suggestions are DO Cataluña,DOCa Rioja, DO Rueda, VdT Castillaand VdT Ribera del Gállego.

From a brick arch that crosses theroom hangs a second blackboard, thistime for the tapas. I’m tempted by theCatalan-style spinach, the dressed codroe, lamb chop, liver pâté… Sometimesthe recommendations include bloodsausages (my favorite), but today I’mnot in luck. Regular features includeclassics such as Spanish omelet andManchego cheese. The tapas served aretraditional and made from selectproducts. In an attempt to offer theusual Spanish vegetables, the ownerorders them direct from growersoutside Tokyo, but his menu obviouslyadapts to the season and availability.The creator of this corner of Spain inTokyo, Mr. Danjo, likes to welcome hiscustomers personally. His warmpersonality combines with top-classculinary skills. His career began in aFrench restaurant in one of Tokyo’s tophotels; then he became curious aboutSpanish cuisine, and set out for Spainto learn the craft in situ. Fifteen yearsago he set up his own restaurant, TioDanjo, on the second floor of thisbuilding; ten years later he opened themore informal tapas bar beneath it. It

soon drew in a wide variety ofcustomers: local office workers, girlsstudying flamenco, teachers with theirstudents, wine lovers. This is their“locale”, and everyone enjoysthemselves in their own way. And, asthey leave, they call out “¡Hasta luego!”

Tio Danjo2F, Hagiwara Bld.3, 1-12-5, Ebisu,Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0013, JapanTel.: (+81) 354 200 747

Yoshiko Akehi is an independent

journalist specializing in Spanish food and

wine. Her work has been included in

many publications in Japan over the last

20 years, and she is the author of the first

book in Japan on fortified wines, Sherry,Port and Madeira. She coordinates

promotion in Japan of the DO Jerez y

Manzanilla and the DO Vinos de Madrid

Regulatory Councils. During the

FENAVIN trade fair in 2007, she received

the award for “A life dedicated to wine”.

Having lived in Madrid for many years,

she now travels frequently to Spain,

visiting wineries all over the country.


TOKYOText and PhotosYoshiko Akehi/©ICEX

Have a Spanish Break!

YoshikoAkehi from Translation

Jenny McDonald/©ICEX

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102 MAY-AUGUST 2010 SPAIN GOURMETOUR MAY-AUGUST 2010 SPAIN GOURMETOUR 103

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ING

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ESSI

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Las primeraspalabras de lacocina. Pequeñoglosario gastronómico

(Basic culinary vocabulary.Short gastronomic glossary)by Unai Ugalde, Dani Lasa,Andoni Luis Aduriz.Spanish. Crystalize. Confit.Pasturize. Emulsify. Infuse.Marinate. Do you reallyknow what these wordsmean? If not, you are inluck, because the chefsbehind Mugaritz restaurant(San Sebastian) are steppingout from behind the potsand pans to tend to thechalkboard. Get a top-classlesson from top-class cooksas they break down 40terms, explain them indetail, and then illustratewith a recipe. Poaching(poached peaches in rumand cinnamon caramel) andoxidizing (fried artichokeswith cod brandade) are justtwo tasty examples. Youwon’t want to skip thisclass. (IXO editorial,www.ixoeditorial.com,[email protected];www.mugaritz.com,[email protected])

Sabor Ampurdanés.Los mejores platos dela cocina del BaixEmpordà

(The flavor of Ampurdán.Baix Empordà’s top cuisine)by Pere Bahí. Spanish.Welcome, dear readers, toAmpurdán (Empordà in thelocal language)—arguablyone of Catalonia’s mostbreathtaking regions. Butbeyond its intoxicatingMediterranean air andawesome landscapes, it isalso known for its deliciousfood. In this book Pere Bahí(self-taught chef and ownerof area restaurant La Xicra)offers an inside look attraditional cuisine. Hisrecipes fall into categoriessuch as rices and pastas;snails, mushrooms, frogsand sauces; cod; and fishand seafood, among others.Try the cap i pota, salsifins,or the world-famouscatxoflino. Sorry! You’ll haveto check out the book tofind out what these uniqueCatalonian dishes entail.(Ediciones Omega, S.A.,www.ediciones-omega.es)

Navarra. La cultura

(Navarre. Wine Culture) byIon Stegmeier. Spanish.This book weaves togetherphotographs, personal andpolitical stories, anecdotesand history to provide anin-depth look at animportant relationship:wine and Navarre. Chapterscover topics such as thehistory and characteristicsof the sector, wine in dailylife, its roots in ancienttimes, wine in literature andart, vine cultivation andconvents and monasteries,wine tourism, wineryarchitecture, and the futureand industry challenges,among others. Completewith a list of regionalwineries and a glossary toboot, this text covers all thebases and will leave youwith the urge to head tonorthern Spain and see andtaste for yourself. (Fondo dePublicaciones del Gobiero deNavarra,[email protected],www.cfnavarra.es/publicaciones)

Comer arte. Unavision fotográfica de lacocina de Ferran Adrià

(Eating Art. A PhotographicVision of Ferran Adrià’sCuisine) by FrancescGuillamet. Spanish. Food orart? That’s the questionposed and answered in thisbook, which celebrates thecuisine of a chef who needsno introduction—FerranAdrià, and the photographyof a man with a masterfultouch—Francesc Guillamet.This collaboration goesbeyond joining a chef andphotographer, a dish and alens. It offers a vision ofAdrià’s cuisine from a totallyunique perspective, neitherthe cook’s nor the diner’s:the artist’s. Guillametdecontextualizes the dishesand puts a spotlight on theaesthetic. Get up close andpersonal with coconut-chocolate mosaic andcarmelized trout roe likeyou’ve never seen thembefore. (Somoslibros,www.blogsomoslibros.com)

Mares de España

(The Seas of Spain).English, Spanish. The Bayof Biscay, the CantabrianSea, the Gulf of Cadiz, theStrait of Gibraltar… bodiesof water are an integral partof Spain. With over 9,656km (6,000 miles) ofcoastline, the country isintrinsically linked to thesea, from fishing, whichdates back forever, totoday’s culinary world. This500-page book is acollaboration of more than50 specialists inoceanography, geology,zoology, botany, and marinescience, among others.Ecosystems? They’re inthere. Estuaries and saltmarshes? Whales, dolphinsand turtles? Them too.International frameworks toprotect the marineenvironment? You betthey’re covered. Pick upthis comprehensiveoverview of Spain’s seas,complete with breathtakingphotos and images.(Ministry of Environment andRural and Marine Affairs,www.marm.es; Grupo Tragsa,www.tragsa.es,[email protected])

Hofmann

Spanish. Mey Hoffman, theworld-renowned hautecuisine chef, is an expertthree times over: ineconomics, interior design,and cuisine and pastry-making. These three areascome together in everythingshe does. In 1982 Hoffmanfounded a hospitalityschool in Barcelona, whereclasses go beyondgastronomy to includesubjects like art, oenology,human resources andlanguages. Hoffman isalways looking for ways torevolutionize the schooland her cooking; versatilityis key. This book is acollection of her recipes:breads, cakes, desserts andpetit fours. Mini focaccia,brownies with chocolatecream, chocolate tower withWilliams pear parfait andfrozen ice cream cones, andstrawberry eclair are just afew suggestions. This istruly delicious stuff. Try notto lick the book. (Escuela deHosteleria Hoffman,[email protected],[email protected],www.hoffman-bcn.com)

CR20. CarmeRuscalleda. Los 20años de Sant Pau

(CR20. Carme Ruscalleda.20 Years of Sant Pau) byCarme Ruscalleda. Spanish.This book pays homage toCarme Ruscalleda’sspectacular career as aworld-class chef during thelast two decades. Her firstrestaurant, Sant Pau, islocated in Catalonia, and in2004 Ruscalleda openedanother one in Tokyo. Thisbook is divided into twosections. The first is aselection of 20 recipes, onefor each year her businesshas been open. Theyinclude suggestions such ascod, almond andmushroom soup; prawnswith soupy rice; and a verydelicious dessert she calls“E-mail Japan” (definitelyworth checking out). Thesecond part of the bookfeatures 20 Spanish andJapanese artists celebratingRuscalleda. (Reserva Mont-Ferrant, S.A.,www.montferrant.com,[email protected])

TextSamaraKamenecka/©ICEX

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del vino

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BOOKS

Invitación a lafelicidad. Laalimentación y lacomida en las IslasBaleares

(Invitation to Happiness.Balearic Food and Cuisine)by Andreu Manresa.Spanish. In this book, theauthor pays tribute to thesmells and flavors of hisexperiences in the BalearicIslands. He offers nostalgicstories and food memoriesand extends readers aninvitation to revisit themwith him. To eat, hemaintains, is to enjoy,remember, and discover, allin an effort to search forhappiness. His text isorganized into very shortchapters on everything fromdish aromas to landscapes,including topics such assnails, mushrooms,asparagus, milk, cheese,herbs, mayonnaise,artichokes, fruit, pork andpotatoes. His stories offer aunique perspective, as theyare peppered with poignantpersonal memories.(Hiperdimensional Edicions,SL, [email protected],www.hiperdimensional.com)

Recetas made inSpain

(Recipes Made in Spain) byJosé Andrés. Spanish. Inrecent years Americans havecome to truly appreciate (ordare I say love) Spanishfood, and the bestambassador for Spanishgastronomy in the US isJosé Andrés. His TVprogram Made in Spain hasbeen a huge success there,and this book is a by-product of his show. In it hefocuses on the imaginationbehind Spanish cuisine,traveling the country andselecting recipes, fromGalicia to Andalusia. Hischoices not only reflectlocal tradition, but the heartand soul of typical Spanishcuisine. More than 100recipes include russiansalad with trout roe, rabbitwith rice and saffron, andpork meatballs with squid.Taste Spain’s diversity righton the end of your fork.(Editorial Planeta, S.A.,www.planeta.es)

Un lujo para elpaladar. El mundo depata negra

(Treat Your Palate. TheWorld of Iberico Ham) byPilar Carrizosa. Spanish.Pigs. Spain’s claim to fame.Its greatest export. Its prideand joy. Pata negra is likethe George Clooney of ham.It’s the Warren Buffetamong investors, theLamborghini among cars.This book reports on wherethese Iberico pigs are raised,what they are fed, and theirnutritional properties.Travel Spain’s hamgeography and understandmore about quality, the bestplaces to eat it and winematching. The book alsoincludes recipes from 10top chefs, including Roca,Adrià and Subijana. Try thesuckling pig confit in Picaulolive oil or the potato, codand Iberico ham mille-feuille, and enter a hamparadise you never evenknew existed. (El TercerNombre, S.A.,www.eltercernombre.com,[email protected])

Barcelona.

The Palimpsest ofBarcelona by Joan Barriland Pere Vivas. Catalan,English, French, German,Italian, Spanish. Whoeversaid “A picture’s worth athousand words” clearlyhad this book in mind.Take a visual journey toBarcelona, where historyhas been written andrewritten over 2,000 years,and where human, artisticand architectural wealthcome together. Take in thefantastic photos: theZoology Museum, the Arcdel Triomf, the NationalTheatre of Catalonia, streetart—from sculptures tograffiti—, Las Ramblas, andPla de Boqueria. Ponder theview from the tops ofbuildings and their innercourtyards, of Barcelonetabeach, regional festivals, asoccer game in Camp Nou,special taxis, churches andpalaces, 12th-centurychapels, intricatearchitecture and PlazaCatalunya. Welcome toBarcelona, in all its glory.(Triangle Postals,www.trianglepostals.com)

11 LIBROS AF.qxd 23/3/10 21:56 Página 104

F.J. Sánchez Sucesores, S.A.Tel.: (+34) 950 364 [email protected]: Inside back cover

Grupo GourmetsTel.: (+34) 915 489 [email protected]: 109

Industrial QueseraCuquerellaTel.: (+34) 926 266 [email protected]: 110

Jolca, S.A.Tel.: (+34) 955 029 [email protected]: 9

Loreto SpecialityFoods, S.L.Tel.: (+34) 954 113 [email protected]: 4

Olive Oil from Spainwww.oliveoilfromspain.comPage: 107

Rafael Salgado, S.A.Tel.: (+34) 916 667 [email protected]: 7

Sánchez RomeroCarvajal Jabujo, S.A. (5Jotas)Tel.: (+34) 917 283 [email protected]: Back cover

Wines From Spainwww.winesfromspain.esPage: 8

Aceites Borges Pont, S.A.Tel.: (+34) 973 501 [email protected]: Inside front cover

Anecoop, Sdad.CooperativaTel.: (+34) 963 938 [email protected]: 111

Ángel CamachoAlimentación, S.A.(Fragata)Tel.: (+34) 955 854 [email protected]: 105

Cheese from Spainwww.cheesefromspain.comPage: 107

C.R.D.O. La ManchaTel.: (+34) 926 541 [email protected]: 5

Extenda-Agencia Andaluzade Promoción ExteriorTel.: (+34) 902 508 [email protected]: 106

ADIN

DEX

12 REGULAR FEATURES AF.qxd 13/3/10 20:36 Página 106

PEXTENDA ing.indd 1 12/3/10 18:13:51


RUSSIATel.: (495) 935 83 [email protected]

SINGAPORETel.: 67 37 30 [email protected]

SWEDENTel.: (8) 611 19 [email protected]

UNITED KINGDOMTel.: (20) 7317 20 [email protected]

UNITED STATESTel.: (312) 642 19 [email protected]

Tel.: (323) 658 71 [email protected]



CENTRAL BOOKINGOFFICETel.: (+34) 915 166 [email protected]

HONG KONGTels.: 25 21 74 33 -25 22 75 [email protected]

IRELANDTel.: (1) 661 63 [email protected]

ITALYTel.: (02) 78 14 [email protected]

JAPANTel.: (3) 55 75 04 [email protected]

MALAYSIATel.: (3) 2148 73 [email protected]

NETHERLANDSTels.: (70) 364 31 66 -345 13 [email protected]

NORWAYTel.: (23) 31 06 [email protected]

RUSSIATels.: (495) 783 9281/82/83/84/[email protected]

SINGAPORETel.: 67 32 97 [email protected]

SWEDENTel.: (8) 24 66 [email protected]

UNITED KINGDOMTel.: (20) 7467 23 [email protected]

UNITED STATESTels.: (212) 661 49 59/[email protected]

For tourist information,contact your nearestSPANISH TOURISTOFFICE:

CANADATels.: (416) 961 31 31/40 [email protected]

CHINATels.: (10) 65 32 93 06/[email protected]

DENMARKTel.: 33 18 66 [email protected]

ITALYTel.: (02) 72 00 46 [email protected]


JAPANTels.: (3) 34 32 61 41/[email protected]

NETHERLANDSTel.: (70) 346 59 [email protected]

NORWAYTel.: (47) 22 83 76 [email protected]

For more information,contact the ECONOMICAND COMMERCIALOFFICES AT SPAIN’SEMBASSIES in thecountries below:

AUSTRALIATels.: (2) 93 62 42 12/3/[email protected]

CANADATel.: (416) 967 04 88/28 [email protected]

CHINATel.: (10) 58 799 [email protected]

Tel.: (21) 62 17 26 [email protected]

DENMARKTel.: (33) 31 22 [email protected]

SPAI

NOV

ERSE

AS


This is a selection ofexporters supplied by theindividual sources.

Game

Vencaza S.L.Tel.: (+34) 925 418 [email protected]

Chacinerias ExtremeñasTel.: (+34) 927 390 243www.chacinerias.es

Jesús Gutiérrez “Faustino”Tel.: (+34) 696 706 463www.jgutierrezcarnecaza.com

Source: ICEX

FoodProducts

GourmetSuppliers

Caviar de Riofrío(Piscifactoría de SierraNevada)Tel.: (+34) 958 322 [email protected]

Manjares de la TierraTel.: (+34) 978 780 [email protected]

AroaTel.: (+34) 943 140 [email protected]

Naranjas LolaTel.: (+34) 961 720 [email protected]

Can ManentTel.: (+34) 938 448 [email protected]

Source: ICEX

EXPO

RTER

S


PREMIUM QUALITY SPANISH CHEESE

-THE GRANDEE OF SPAIN-

Award winning 12 month maturedManchego D.O. from La Mancha October 2008

Awarded first prize Manchego cheese at the annualManchego cheesemakers guild contest.

TARTESANA, S.L“Tarquessia de La Mancha”

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Tel: +(34) 926 266 410Fax: +(34) 926 266 413

[email protected]

I. QUESERA CUQUERELLA, S.L. - QUESOS ROCINANTEMalagón (C. Real) - Spain - Tel.: +34 926 266 410 - Fax: +34 926 266 413

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“The Original Spanish Cheesecake”

INGLÉS_Maquetación 1 26/11/09 16:40 Página 1

in Jerez 4,500 bottles of a non-fortifiedwhite wine using Palomino-Finograpes. It is a remarkable experimentand a tribute to the history of theregion because in the 1700s, it wasstill highly common not to fortify thewines intended for local consumption.By the way, anyone trying to find a“Bota” from Equipo Navazos in Jerezwill come up empty handed. Theeditions are not available in thetraditional sherry region and the twoleaders of the Navazos team find thatperfectly normal. “We work with thebodegas, not against them,” observesBarquín. “It is precisely here in theregion that we want to avoid beingseen as a competitor.” Ojeda adds,“And besides, what could we add tothe ancestral wealth of wines here inJerez? The whole point is to blaze newtrails out in the rest of the world.”

Merten Worthmann lives in Barcelona.He is a member of the GermanWeltreporter network and writes forvarious newspapers and magazines onculture, travel and fine dining. His bookGebrauchsanweisung für Barcelona(Barcelona: Instructions Manual) wasrecently published by Piper Verlag.

Website

· www.equiponavazos.comTasting notes from each edition ofLa Bota and current contactinformation for distributors abroad.(Catalan, English, Spanish)

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A white wine fromthe 1700sThe treasure hunters from EquipoNavazos are of course particularlyinterested in the oldest botas, in caskshidden away in corners, in wines thatare wildly complex or excitinglyunusual. However, they also defendthe day-in day-out work of the majorbrands and their continuously highquality. Barquín observes that “A Fino,such as the well-known Tio Pepe, is atruly exceptional and reasonably-priced wine for its market segment.”That is why the very special editionsfrom Equipo Navazos in fact representthe entire sherry sector, the greatwealth of the DOs Jerez and Montilla-Moriles. Their exclusiveness isinclusive in that they are attempting,in a new manner, to raise awareness ofa cultural heritage built up overcenturies. Ojeda personally representsthat inclusiveness because, as theproduction manager for Bodegas JoséEstévez, he works with Amontilladosand Pedro Ximénez sherries in theVORS (Very Old Rare Sherry) classthat are stored in the cellars of theValdespino subsidiary, as well as withpopular brands such as La Guita, aManzanilla, or Inocente, the in-housecompetition for Tio Pepe. Valdespinoand La Guita have each provided botasfor Navazos editions, with a minimumof red tape, one would assume!The team has other partnerships intheir sights. “The more the merrier,”say both Barquín and Ojeda, thoughthe number of editions each yearremain fairly stable. They wantdiversity. “A diverse and new offering

is important in wine markets today,”notes Barquín. “Wine is not like breador yogurt, which should always tastethe same. Someone who likes winewants to compare regions, terroirs,years and bodegas, and they want totaste the difference. Otherwise, it isboring.” They are even willing toencourage disputes. Ojeda says, “InJerez, there is the eternal Fino debatebetween the devotees of Tio Pepe, LaIna and Inocente. It is like soccer: andwe want more of it, that is why westrive for a diverse offering.” Theeditions from Equipo Navazos showwhat is possible, including estatewines, special editions of surprisingand unique Solera wines, and bottlingwith minimal filtering to ensure thatthe impression of drinking from a botais preserved as much as possible in thebottle. And on the side, Barquín andOjeda have launched a very unusualproject. With Dirk Niepoort, aNavazos member from Portugal andan internationally-recognized Portproducer, they just finished preparing

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respects him.” Edition 17, “La Bota dePalo Cortado” came from the cellars ofFernando de Castilla, located in theheart of the traditional sherry region ofJerez, and was awarded 99 points outof 100 by Guía Peñin, the mostimportant wine guide in Spain.“Equipo Navazos is fighting to upholdthe prestige of our DO,” says Soto,“and their work represents a veryspecial quality label that draws theattention of the market to hiddentreasures. The bonds between me,other producers, Barquín and Ojedaare based not only on friendship, butalso on the awareness that we are allon the same mission.”For the two leaders of EquipoNavazos, teamwork in fact meansmuch more than a lot of fun andexciting discoveries in the cellars.Each bottle must reveal the fullpotential of the wines from Jerez andMontilla because Barquín and Ojedahave often observed that, although thename sherry is known and respectedaround the world, very few people are

capable of appreciating what thebodegas currently have to offer.Barquín explains, “I’m occasionallyat informal meetings of real wineconnoisseurs where everyone bringsa few special bottles along. And oursherries are regularly the big surprise.Some of the people there simplycannot believe it. Later, they write mee-mails saying I’m truly ashamed tosay how little I knew...”Red and white wines from Spain areregularly in the news, year after year.In comparison, the wonderful sherrytradition appears to have taken a backseat, even though the Solera techniquewith the characteristic yeasts is uniqueworldwide. In a nutshell, Palomino-Fino grapes are grown in the whitish,very chalky Albariza soil to producean 11 to 12% white wine must. Afterfermenting, it is fortified to 15% forFino, Manzanilla and Amontillado,and up to 17.5% for Oloroso. Thenew wines are then aged in casks thatare only five sixths filled. In a 15%wine, that results in the formation of

a special yeast layer, the flor, thatblocks the wine off from oxygen andat the same time produces the typicalsherry taste. In an Amontillado, this“biological” ageing is generallyfollowed by a long period of“oxidized” ageing. In an Oloroso,however, no flor is used for ageing.During the production process, thewines travel through a number ofcasks. Only a third of the sherry maybe drawn from a “mature” cask. Theremoved third is replaced with sherryfrom a cask one year younger, whichitself receives sherry from a cask stillone year younger, etc. Three steps, i.e.three years minimum, are mandatory.But there are also 8-year Finos, over20-year Amontillados and over 30-year Palo Cortados, the very rareand highly controversial mixtures ofAmontillado and Oloroso with theirspecific nuances. It follows that theyear indicated on a bottle is not theyear the grapes were harvested, butis generally the average age of thewines in the cask.


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Contentsp. 2 Illustration: Alfredop. 3 From left to right:Antonio Lafuente/©ICEX;Juan Manuel Sanz/©ICEX;Óscar Pipkin/©ICEX; ToyaLegido/©ICEX

DO Vinos deMadridp. 10 FernandoMadariaga/©ICEX;Amador Toril/©ICEX;Félix Lorrio/©ICEXp. 11 Patricia R. Soto/©ICEXp. 12 From top to bottom:Carlos Tejero/©ICEX;Patricia R. Soto/©ICEXp. 13 Pablo Neustadt/©ICEXp. 14 FernandoMadariaga/©ICEXp. 15 Patricia R. Soto/©ICEXp. 16 Pablo Neustadt/©ICEXp. 17 From top to bottom:Fernando Madariaga/©ICEX;Patricia R. Soto/©ICEXp. 18 Patricia R. Soto/©ICEX;Tomás Zarza/©ICEX

pp. 19-20 PabloNeustadt/©ICEXp. 21 From left to right:Ayuntamiento de Madrid;Patricia R. Soto/©ICEXpp. 22-23 From left toright: Bodega GosálbezOrti; Pagos de FamiliaMarqués de Griñón;Bodegas Tagonius; Bodega yViñedos Bernabeleva;Bodega Marañones; BodegasLicinia; Vinos Jeromín; ElRegajal; Carlos Roca/©ICEXp. 24 Patricia R. Soto/©ICEXp. 25 From top to bottom:Ayuntamiento de Madrid;Blanca Berlín/©ICEX;Map: Javier Belloso

Island Wines I.Balearic Islandspp. 26-30 ÓscarPipkin/©ICEXp. 31 4 kilos vinícolapp. 32-33 ÓscarPipkin/©ICEX;Maps: Javier Bellosopp. 34-35 ÓscarPipkin/©ICEXp. 36 Bodegas Ànima Negra

CRED

ITS

p. 37 HaroldHeckle/©ICEX

Gourmet supplierspp. 38-44 Juan ManuelSanz/©ICEXp. 45 From top to bottom:Aroa; Juan ManuelSanz/©ICEXp. 46 Juan ManuelSanz/©ICEXp. 47 Pescaderías Chivitepp. 48-49 Juan ManuelSanz/©ICEXp. 50 Toya Legido andTomás Zarza/©ICEXp. 51 Juan ManuelSanz/©ICEX

The Sweetness ofOlive Juicepp. 52-54 Toya Legido andTomás Zarza/©ICEXp. 55 Juan ManuelSanz/©ICEXpp. 56-62 Toya Legido andTomás Zarza/©ICEXp. 63 Ignacio MuñozSeca/©ICEXpp. 65-67 Toya Legido andTomás Zarza/©ICEX

Game meatpp. 68-81 AntonioMata/©ICEX;Illustrations: Alfredo

Recipespp. 82-83 TomásZarza/©ICEXpp. 84-93 Recipes: ToyaLegido/©ICEX; Restaurantphotos and Cáceres photos:Tomás Zarza/©ICEX

Equipo Navazospp. 94-99 Equipo Navazos

Have a SpanishBreak!p. 100 stock.xchng;Yoshiko Akehi/©ICEXp. 101 YoshikoAkehi/©ICEX


Spain Gourmetour 79 (2010)

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