Wine with Leslie: Super sips from Spain's Soria region
In Istock Northern Spain Pic: Soria Province The
We are off to Spain in the column this week as my head is filled with gorgeous Spanish flavours having spent a week in beautiful Soria in Northern Spain. Soria is two hours north of Madrid and is one of the least populated provinces in one of the least populated regions, Castilla Y Leon.
This is the largest province in Spain, and contains over half of Spain’s cultural heritage sites including 11 UNESCO World Heritage sites, the most of any region worldwide (tied with Lombardy in Italy). So expect lots of castles and royal palaces as well as beautiful walled towns (e.g. Peñaranda de Duero) where you can eat whole roast milk-fed lamb and of course wash it down with Ribera del Duero, arguably Spain’s best red wine (along with Rioja).
I was visiting primarily for the Soria Gastronómic Conference which was focused on mushrooms and truffles which are the great gift of the region.
The smoky black fruits to be found in Ribera del Duero match the umami-rich flavours of ceps, chanterelles and saffron milk caps perfectly. Now that we are in mushroom season in Ireland expect to see wild mushrooms on menus and in good delis. The Ribera del Duero reds I recommend this week won’t see you wrong.
Easily the most fascinating talk at the conference was from the legendary Sommelier François Chartier who has developed a whole new system for wine and food matching. Chartier looks to the molecules in food to find matches in the same way that Heston Blumenthal matches blue cheese and white chocolate (which share many connections at a molecular level). It turns out the Mencía grape from Bierzo can match wild mushrooms cooked in squid ink as we discovered at a demo with chefs from Ambivium in Peñafiel just up the river. Similarly beef tartare with shiitake mushrooms and Parmesan matched an oak-aged Ribera del Duero, dark chocolate cake with grated black truffle similarly so.
I realise that looking to molecules is more difficult than looking to taste memories but I found it fascinating the extra possibilities this could open up and I ordered one of his books immediately: I shall report back!
All the wines this week are from Castilla Y Leon, all classics, and all delicious.
One of several interesting new Tesco Finest wines, all discounted by 20% with a club card from now until New Year’s Eve. This is classic Ribera del Duero from the high mountain plains of Castilla Y León, weighty dark black fruits, liquorice, blackcurrant and mocha flavours with some meaty chocolate tones on the mid-palate. Try matching it with umami-rich, slow-cooked flat mushrooms.
A fine Ribera del Duero despite the low price point (surely the cheapest in the country). This is packed with ripe dark fruit aromas, with spice and vanilla touches, blueberries and blackberries and pomegranate. The bright fruits here will link in nicely with game dishes (now in season) especially cooked with some chanterelles or ceps.
From Bierzo in the west of Castilla Y León, the Mencía grape matches truffles surprisingly well and this wine was also a perfect match with trompette de mort mushrooms cooked in squid ink with orange and oregano cooked by a chef. Bright lively dark fruits with a floral violet character and juicy intensity. Gorgeous.
Protos is the excellent (and architecturally significant) cooperative in Ribera del Duero, located in Peñafiel near Valladolid. This is their entry-level wine with just 3 months of ageing in the barrel and then in the bottle — fruit-forward, ripe dark fruit aromas, soft plums, ripe blackberry, lithe, lively and juicy.
Sister property to the legendary Pesquera winery where Alejandro Fernandez helped kickstart a revival of the region. Always less expensive than Big Brother but just as much intensity (if perhaps a tad less elegance). Dense and textured, ripe earthy blackcurrant and forest fruits, liquorice, vanilla and spices. Delicious.
This intense dark-fruited example of Ribera del Duero deserves wider distribution as even though prices have increased a little it still represents value. From 25-year-old Tempranillo vines with bright dark cherry tones, and aromas of garrigue herbs and black fruits. Ripe and darkly fruity with tobacco leaf and dark berry flavours. Intense.
About time I mentioned Kinsale Mead again, it really is something special and different. Kinsale Mead will be at the Ballymaloe Festival this weekend so if you are visiting (and you should) - make sure to say hello. Kinsale Mead is the first true Meadery to have opened in Ireland in 200 years they believe.
The Wild Red is fermented off-dry (just barely) with Irish Blackcurrants, Cherries and honey of course. A gorgeous ruby red colour with berry aromas mixed with honeycomb and a background baked cherry note. Silky on the palate, balanced, fruity and dry with lingering red-currant and baked honey notes lingering on the finish. Delicious.