Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Rueda Verdejo wine, from 2018
Last week, as it was so hot, I got this bottle of young fresh white wine from the Rueda region in Spain. It's from last year, 2018, a vintage considered as a very good one, the former, 2017 being excellent. And it was really good indeed. The color is greenish yellow (just like the vinho verde from Portugal, thus their names). On the nose, aromas of white fruit like peach, minerals and fresh herbs like fennel. On the mouth: acidic lemon, fresh, well structured. Aftertaste: pleasingly long and bitter almond. I served chilled and drank it to accompany a rice dish with cod and shrimp; for dessert I had tetilla cheese and quince paste. I have to say all the flavors were enhanced to take the dinner to a whole new level. 
Rioja red wine, Crianza from 2015
A couple of weeks ago I bought this fairly priced Rioja at Central Market. From Bodegas Montecillo, the third oldes Rioja winery, it is a prestigious, consistent brand from Rioja Alta, one of the 3 sub-regions of Rioja in Spain, famous for producing wines with great structure and high acidity. These are wines that usually taste better after aging for a long time. Crianza means it has been aged for 1 year in American oak casks and for 1 year in the bottle. Its color is cherry red with purple glitter, very elegant. Elaborated with mainly Tempranillo grapes, plus a little bit Garnacha and Graciano, to make a more complex and powerful blend without losing the main grape losing in protagonism. The aroma on the nose brings a bouquet of dark fruits like blackberry, currant and raspberry. The taste is silky and you can tell it has a harmonic and balanced body. The 2015 vintage is very good, which is optimal, since the latest excellent vintages date from 2010 and 2011. I paired it with chorizo from Córdoba (Andalucía, Spain) which I bought at Central Market, and a hearty lentil soup. It helped wet my appetite and really enhanced the flavors of the cured meat and the solid lentil soup, taking them to a nother level. The glorious aftertaste notes made me want to take a peaceful siesta, which I did take right after lunch for a good hour and a half. I woke up restored, reenergized and happy with life :)
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