I was invited last week to join a paella dinner at, of all places, Je Suis Gourmand. As I was eager to see if a French restaurant could come up with good Spanish food, I readily accepted. Each of the guests would bring a bottle of Spanish or French wine.
With a platter of phyllo-wrapped bacalao and bell peppers, spicy gambas tartlets and black olive triangles:
Rose de Pavie Macquin 2007 - I recall reading somewhere this is mostly Merlot with a bit of Cab Franc. Deep rose color. Good ripe fruit. Soft at first though it firms up on the crisp finish. Lots of strawberry. Nice and fresh.
Aimery Cremant de Limoux La Bulle de Limoux Methode Traditionelle - An NV sparkler from Sieur d'Arques. Fine bubbles. Tasty, yeasty, sour apple. Clean but a little short.
Homenaje Rosado 2007 - A very reasonably priced Spanish rose which goes for about $ 8.00. Soft and real easy to drink. A crowd pleaser.
On to the next course of Marinated Salmon and Scallops Seviche with Citrus and Ginger Flavors.
Moreau Naudet Chablis 2005 - A bit of wood on the nose. Prominent pomelo and grapefruit flavors. Stony and dry with good length. A good wine which was, unfortunately, killed by the Seviche.
The main event was the Paella a la Marc (after Chef Marc Aubry).
Alion 2003 - Very dark. Sweet, ripe plums. Tobacco. Soft enough to be approachable after an hour in the decanter. Definitely in the modern style but it manages to avoid the excess of sweet vanilla oak I find in other Spanish wines of this style. Beautiful balanced, outstanding wine.
Callejo Reserva 2004 - Another modern-style wine. Extremely dark. Powerful stuff. Spicy, tannic. Good fruit but syrupy. Despite a decant, not quite all there yet. Still chunky and angular. Needs more time in bottle, I think. Give it another 3 years before trying again.
Marques de Caceres Gaudium 2002 - Oddly, not much of a note, although I enjoyed this more than the Callejo. Dark. Good acidity makes this go very nicely with the food. Back to a more traditional style (or is it because of the vintage?) after the the fruit driven Alion and Callejo.
With the Manchego friand we had two older Riojas.
Beronia Gran Reserva 1996 - Gentle oak. Medium-bodied. Elegant. Chocolate predominates but there's a savory herbal edge to this as well. Makes for very good drinking now.
Marques de Murietta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 1998 - I love this wine and have had it several times over the last few months. Lovely nose. Elegant and savory.Still a bit tannic but nothing a few more years in the bottle won't fix. There's an acidity to this wine which makes it great with food. Classic and outstanding.
Some friends of mine were also dining at the restaurant. I sent over some Ygay and they sent me this:
Meadowlark Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (73%) Syrah (27%) Napa Valley 2005 - Extremely dark. Soft, sweet. Very chocolatey and oaky. A jolt after the Riojas. Perhaps I needed a steak to appreciate this.
I thought we were done but our host, Noel, couldn't help himself and insisted on opening:
Tempier Bandol Rose 2007 - Very attractive pale old rose color. Real gentle wine with some citrus peel sour/bitter character in the finish. This is what rose should be all about but it's frightfully expensive at about $ 40.00.
Another bottle of red was opened but I could no longer make any coherent notes as I was already enjoying some Cardenal Mendoza Brandy de Jerez and wine would have tasted like water after a brandy.