Our second tour of Castille y Leon has commenced and once again we have ben blessed with perfect weather. The usual shenanigans of Madrid airport baggage carousels kept us waiting for a short while but the traffic was light and we arrived in Valladolid in plenty of time to relax and prepare for dinner. The Gareus hotel is our base, as it has always been since 2012, and the staff are longstanding and very charming.
Our destination for dinner was our usual haunt – the Michelin starred Trigo. Very kindly, they had opened specially for us, as they are normally closed on Tuesdays. Noemi and Victor are the wife and husband team that deliver wonderfully creative cuisine and small parcels of wine that enhance the food and lead you to a broader understanding of the region. A wonderful dinner ensued with the usual eclectic mix of dishes that would be impossible to create at home – washed down with a Viognier from La Seca in Rueda and a mature Ribera del Duero red.
A top start to the tour!
Our first full day took us to Cigales and Rueda. It was a beautiful day – crisp blue skies, a fresh wind and the promise of warmth. It was only 8 degrees when we left the hotel! The Cigales region is just twenty minutes to the north of Valladolid so there was barely enough time to convey all the key facts about the region. Historically, the region was renowned for its Rosado wines but due to World Wars, civil war, phylloxera and economic decline, it is only in the last forty years that has been a renaissance in its wine fortunes.
Our first stop was at Bodegas Concejo, an important and longstanding winery in Cigales run by the ever ebullient Enrique Concejo. Enrique greeted us with his usual charm and gave us a great insight into the terroir, the history and the vision of his grandfather. We then moved inside into their vast new winery and tasting space for a fabulous tasting. A comparison of Rosados was followed an ever increasing selection of aged reds culminating in their 1999 Gran Reserva and the Concejo + – a very limited production wine selling at €100 per bottle. This was great first visit.
From Cigales, it was forty five minutes south to Rueda. This is a white wine region that was re-energised by Marques de Riscal in the 1970’s in their search for quality white wines. Riscal introduced Sauvignon Blanc with great success but it also spurred on the existing producers to get behind the indigenous Verdejo. The net result is that Rueda has become a high volume production zone servicing the white wine demands of Madrid. Bodegas Menade was our destination and we went first to the old historic cellar in the village of La Seca. The Sanz family have artistically renovated the site and this is where some of their more eclectic wines are made.
Ivan hosted us with his usual charm and passion as he took us on a roller coaster ride of politics, history, a rage against over commercialisation and many other topics! We tasted wonderful old vine Verdejo, a zero sulphur amphora aged Verdejo and an aged Sherry style – all from the casks. A quick bite of tortilla, a couple of crisp whites and we were off to the modern new cellar for lunch.
After a quick review of the ducks, donkeys, chickens and geese, and an overview of the estates organic and ecological practices, it was time for lunch. A wonderful array of cheeses, meats, hummus followed by perfectly cooked gammon and salad and an apple tart for dessert. All delicious and a wonderful day.
