Saturday’s Spanish instore tasting event was a fabulous day of fun filled
with a great range of wines to taste alongside Spanish food. Adding a more serious and educational note
was the Lustau Sherry masterclass conducted concurrently. As soon as you walked in the door, you were
met by the largest-ever dish of paella you ever have seen. It could have fed a cast of thousands! And it was delicious, having been prepared by
Maeve Jones, under the watchful eye of Wellington
hospitality identity Ian Hornblow. Then
there were the selection of tapas designed by our beer specialist and foodie Kieran Haslett-Moore….
However, it was the wine selection that was mind-blowing. We haven’t seen such a wide range of
interesting value and quality wines for quite some time. There were long-time favourites and new
labels to create a great deal of interest.
A good starting point was the Vega Barcelona Cava. Another good initial white was a 2009 Pazo
San Mauro Albarino from Rias Baixa.
Representing Rioja was a 2006 Medievo and Torres ‘Ibericos’. Navarra had the 2009 Rojo Garnacha, 2006 Mil
Gracias, 2000 Ochoa Gran Reserva and a lush 2008 Moscatel. Other Aragon and Castilla wines included the
2008 Floral de Uncastellum and 2007 Codice.
Ribera del Duero is so exciting and we had the 2006 Torres ‘Celeste’,
Condado de Haza and Pesquera. From
Calatayud, we had the ever-popular 2007 Papa Luna. The Torres wines from the Penedes are also well-loved
and we had the 2008 Vina Esmeralda, Gran Vina Sol, 2007 Sangre de Toro, 2006
Coronas, and 2005 Gran Coronas. From the
Campo de Borja region, we had the 2006 Coto de Hayas Crianza and ‘Centenaria’. Excellent value was the 2008 Carchelo from
Jumilla. Also from the warm regions were
the La Mancha wines of Verduguez, the 2007
‘Sierra Jalamena’ and 2004 ‘Imperial Toledo’.
What Spanish tasting would be complete without Sherry? Demonstrating the diversity of the wines were
the Gonzalez Byass ‘Tio Pepe’ and ‘Nectar’ PX, available for tasting
instore. The Sherry wines of Lustau
featured in the masterclass conducted by Adam Balasoglou, who was resident
there. He showed the ‘Papirusa’
Manzanilla, ‘Puerto’ Fino. ‘Los Arcos’ Amontillado and Almacenista Amontillado
‘Florido 1/30’ as examples of the flor-influenced examples. For the rayas style, there was the ‘Don Nuno’
Oloroso, Almacenista Oloroso ‘Pata Gallina Jarana 1/38’ and ‘East
India’. The dessert style
wines were the ‘Emilin’ Moscatel and ‘San Emilio’ PX. These Sherries were set alongside a special
tapas menu created by Kieran Haslett-Moore:
Green olives stuffed with anchovies, almonds spiced with paprika, plus squid
with chorizo, red peppers and anchovies in sherry vinegar, then jamon,
finishing with dark chocolate, spiced figs cook in brandy. Who needed lunch?
This Spanish tasting event was truly a fiesta! Keep an eye on the Instore and Wine Tastings pages
of www.regionalwines.co.nz for upcoming events!