Whirl-winder through amazing Spain! Wines, vines, architecture, sublime seafood & history...

 

 

 

Trip to Spain with Gil Family Wine Estates

 

My flight to Madrid was delayed by two and a half hours, so I wasn’t sure I was going to make my connecting flight to Vigo. But, the pilot made up some time in flight and we landed in Madrid not too far behind schedule. The Madrid airport is more confusing than I had anticipated. It seems shiny and new and rather modern, but it is big and sprawling and there aren’t many people around to help you navigate.  Miraculously I jumped on the right train and made it to my connecting gate. The next flight was to Vigo on the far western side of Spain.  A motley crew of wine professionals from around the U.S. gathered in baggage claim and headed to lunch in a caravan of 5 Mercedes vans.

 We were delivered to the quaint and sleepy Atlantic seaside village of Cambados. Lunch was served upstairs in an authentically charming neighborhood style restaurant. The tables were worn, the windows were open and the sea breeze swept in keeping the air flowing and the mood lively.  Razor clams and various small crustaceans were served. Some meat, but seafood was the crux. After a lengthy lunch (that I would soon become accustomed to on this trip) we ambled down two blocks thru the village, past cafes and shops, to the cove on the Atlantic Ocean. Sight of the sea!  The west coast of Spain!  That night we checked in to our hotel in the nearby “metropolis” of Pontevedre.  I took a fast and explorative walk around, down to the promenade along the Pontevedre River and into the lively square.  The town was alive, like summer was in full swing, everyone was out enjoying themselves on a beautiful night in the warm evening air. A small chapel in the center endearingly drew me in. Old Spain! Old authentic village. Here I am! We had time to shower and change, and arrived at the Condessa Winery in the Rias Biaxas DO just as the sun was setting on the vines. Jamon, fresh octopus carpaccio, and then dinner was served. Crab, langoustines, baby prawns...whole bodies intact with their heads still on in the traditional Spanish way.  And the Albarino was a perfect match: Kentia, the unoaked version, Condessa the slightly oaked and fuller style. Both showed beautifully.

 

 

 

 

The next morning in the rain we rallied on towards Zamora and the Tinta de Toro vines. Tempranillo of a slightly different clone, particular to the Toro. Tinier fruit. More nuance and depth the locals proclaim.  Tiers of increasing oak and concentration. Entre Suelos, 6months in French.  Tridente Tempranillo 15months in French.  Rejon 2months in French. Pretty fantastic to taste Tinta de Toro in its home. In addition, two wines made from idiosyncratic grapes…Tridente Mencia from Bierzo and Tridente Prieto Picudo from Leon. I am always intrigued byesoteric and interesting grapes. Mencia is starting to get a lot of attention lately and rightfully so.  It is a pleasant grape with generally less tannin and alcohol and with brighter acidity.  It can make for a very charming wine and very different stylistically than what you find in much of Spain.  Spain is an arid and hot country and typically the traditional grapes of Garnacha, Tempranillo, Monastrell, Carinena and Garnacha Tintorera show their muscles. Prieto Picudo…I am not sure it will ever find glory, but it was fun at taste nonetheless.

 

 

 

The wines were again poured with lunch. Roasted pork, tenderloin of beef and several rich fish, meat and bean driven soups were served.

Verdejo was next. The unoaked version “Arindo” and the oaked “Shaya”. The van pulled over in what seemed like the middle of no-where…but, there we were in Rueda stomping around in a bush-vine vineyard of verdejo. The Rueda in my mind was a much more significant place than the reality of the situation. Rueda is very modest and unassuming, she is pretty much the quiet girl in the corner. But her wines, while correspondingly not super showy, are quite refreshing and delicious.  

 

Our hotel that night was in Segovia. As we drove in to the village, up high on the cliff band was a grand and looming castle built in the 12^th Century named Alcazar. Apparently, Disney used it as the model for Cinderella’s Castle. It is shaped like bow of a boat, ready to launch off the cliff. Alcazar is quintessentially castle-y with its turrets and stone fortress stature. Dinner was at a historic restaurant at the base of the legendary Roman aqueduct.  A group of us followed the impressive aqueduct down to the town square from our hotel on the hill. Looming above us, we reveled in awe that this massive aqueduct was built nearly 2000 years ago without mortar! The above ground portion is 2388 feet long and consist of 166 perfect arches more than 30 feet high. The single keystone holding up to its name!  As a student of History of Art & Architecture in college, I learned about the keystone, but never before had I seen it in its most amazing form. Can I reiterate?  No mortar. Ingenious technique of balancing forces! We viewed it from below, we hiked up and viewed it from above, we were truly astounded.  In the restaurant’s basement we were served the traditional suckling pig for dinner. Zamora wines showed nicely. Fine, velvety rich, Tinta de Toro.

 

The flagship wines of Juan Gil are in Jumilla, our next stop on the tour.  Jumilla looks somewhat akin to Moab, Utah. Here, Monastrell is king.  Monastrell is the same grape as Mourvedre, that you generally find blended with Grenache and Syrah in the southern Rhone Valley of France. Here, like in Bandol, it stands brilliantly on its own. 100-year-old head trained Monastrell vines dot the rocky limestone landscape.  Juan Gil Silver (12months in new French oak) is 100% Monastrell. Juan Gil Blue (18months in new French oak) is 60% Monastrell blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah for added depth and fruit.

 

 

Juan Gil Winery looks south to the Clio/ El Nido Winery.  While all of the Gil Family Wineries are state of the art and meticulously pristine, the Clio/ El Nido Winery shines far and above. It is a gorgeous monument to their two flagship wines. Trellised Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards flank the tres chic modern winery.  In the warm, late summer air, the winery garage doors we thrown up…with a bucolic view of the surrounding rolling vineyards. Clio is a wine that is hard to come by, the El Nido even more so. They are both released in the fall, two years after harvest. The Clio is 70% Monastrell blended with 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.  El Nido (the most expensive wine in the Gil Family portfolio) is predominately Cabernet Sauvignon with 30% Monastrell and is aged for 24months in new French and American oak. Both are amazing, brooding wines.  But, El Nido stands apart. It is a lovely, unfiltered, behemoth. 

At lunch, served from 2pm to 6pm in a grand fashion, baby lamb chops (very tiny and tasty) were served alongside Iberico Jamon. But, the highlight for me (aside from the fabled wines) was the estate olive oil. Smooth and somewhat “sweet” there was not a hint of bitterness.  It was glorious and made from the gnarly vined, character filled, old olive trees on the Clio/ El Nido property. Oh to know that tree’s life…to have seen what those trees have seen.  The innumerable slow days in the vast countryside of Spain, the iconic wars, the famous family and their wine legacy.

 

 

 

We did a quick fly-by visit to Altalaya Winery in Almansa.  Chris Ringland was there…knee deep in harvest and early fermentations. Garnacha Tintorera is the predominant grape in these wines. La Laya is 70% Garnacha Tintorera blended with 30% Monastrell and aged for 4 months in French oak. Atalaya del Camino is 85% Garnacha Tintorera blended with 15% Monastrell and aged for 12months in French oak. Garnacha Tintorera is a teinturier, one of the rare grapes with red flesh.  Most other grapes when you bite into them have white flesh, the color coming from the contact with the red skins.

Calatayud in the northeast province of Zaragoza within Aragon is almost to the Pyrenees. It is a sleepy town with very colorful architecture. Blue, pink, purple facades. It is also an area of civil unrest. Regional flags hang from apartment buildings. They want to secede from Spain. Poverty reins.  In the surrounding villages, nary a soul walks the streets. They say these villages will soon be empty.  That everyone has left for the cities and surrounding bigger towns. It is eerie. A moon like landscape, dry and shards of rock. Trash littered about the land. Neglected groves of almond trees. Quince and fig trees.

Membrillo hails from here…the thick jelly made from the pulp of the quince fruit…that is outstanding with Manchego cheese!  Calatayud is also famous for old vine Garnacha. Gnarly old bush vines grow from the decomposed slate and gravel. Atteca is 100% Old Vine Garnacha aged for 10months in French oak.  It is a layered and delicious.  It is more complex than some other classic “cherrybomb” garnachas. Blackberry, licorice and spice. Smoke, mocha and concentration. The palate is full and busting with profound flavor.  It surprised me and was one of my favorites of the trip. But, sadly much of this year’s harvest got too baked in the intense unrelenting summer sunshine. They said 50-60% of the 2017 yield was lost.

 

 “Zaragoza Rocks!”  my compatriot announced.  And I would have to concur!  85km from the town of Calatayud, Zaragoza is a world apart. It is lively, bustling with shopping, food markets, tapas cafes, great restaurants and beguiling archetypical architectural beauties. The Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar is a Roman Catholic church with Goya frescos! A remarkable thing though, is that during the Spanish Civil war (in 1937) two bombs penetrated the basilica and did not detonate. They are placed on the wall near the altar.  If you look directly up, you can see the scaring on the Goya frescos and on the wall and ceiling where they entered.  It is an extraordinary feeling standing inside the basilica and seeing this. The history of Spain is palpable.  Suddenly I was full of emotion, teeming with the enormity of it all.

 

 

Meat and seafood were overflowing at each meal. If you were want for a vegetable you were out of luck, unless you proclaimed yourself a vegan (which is what my colleague is).  Half way through the trip I realized, that if I did not do so as well, I would never see a vegetable.  My body and I love vegetables, so “Vegan” is what I became for the remainder of the trip.  Gorgeous artichokes dripping with succulent olive oil, superb asparagus and a tomato soup made with olive oil whisked into the most amazing creamy, non-cream, soup I have ever had. Viva the vegan! Luckily many of the meals were served family style (except for the two “special” vegan girls…we got our own special plates) so I was able to pick and choose when the bounty of magnificent crustacean plates were passed around the table. More sweet langoustines, prawns, lobsters than you could dream of. It was a fabulous feast every night!  Sometimes lasting until 2 in the morning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final day of the wine trip was upon us. Lunch was at Can Blau deep in the Monstant region, just shy of the Mediterranean coast. The soil looked mostly red, but as we drove through the winding, rainforest-like hills, you could see the famous llicorella black slate cut into the hillside. The neighboring Priorat is the more prestigious DO and the wines are generally more expensive than those of Montsant. Priorat and Rioja are the only two DOs in Spain with the highest qualification level.  These wines are designated with DOCa on the label. You could spit into Priorat from Can Blau. It is literally separated by the road passing through. Can Blau is 50% Carinena (Mazuelo), 40% Syrah and 20% Garnacha and is aged for 12 months on French oak. Mas de Can Blau is 35% Carinena, 35% Syrah and 30% Garnacha and is aged for 18months in French Oak. In addition, Gil Family Estates makes the Blue/Gray Priorat at a winery within Priorat, in accordance with the DO rules. It is a fantastic and astonishingly affordable blend of Garnacha, Carinena and Cabernet Sauvignon that is aged in French oak for 12months. An extremely modest and talented female winemaker is at the helm all of these distinctive and remarkably affordable wines! 

 

 

We stayed in the picturesque seaside village of Sites for our final two nights in Spain. It is a stunning town on the Mediterranean. Open restaurants line the promenade along the beach. Shops, restaurants and nightclubs are abundant. When we were there the weather was amazingly glorious (maybe 75* during the day and very pleasant at night) and there was some kind of local celebration going on complete with fireworks and festive costumes. It was an easy 30—40minute drive north into the heart of Barcelona. We ate at a fancy 1star Michelin restaurant in the Eixample neighborhood the first night. I was served a deconstructed cauliflower soup (a bowl arrived with just a few tiny peas and a small curl of carrot…before the saucer of soup arrived to be poured over) that was unbelievably silky and divine. The desert, served on a small piece of slate, was a “galaxy” of ice cream and chocolates.

 

For our final full day in Spain, a group of 10 of us returned to Barcelona to explore. Two van-fulls of us pulled into the city. As we were driving in, and very close to the Sagrada Familia (the famous Gaudi church that looks like a hand-dripped sand-castle) we noticed “Bomb-Squad” emergency vehicles. We quickly spotted a corner building with blown out windows.  With the recent terror-attacks in Barcelona (a week or so prior to our arrival) we were all immediately on edge.  The drivers dropped us off in front to the Sagrada Familia, one of the biggest tourist draws in the city, and our instinct was to get away from that area as fast as possible. So, our viewing of the Sagrada Familia was pretty short-lived, but we did get a glimpse of the amazing structure.  So modern, so cool, so unique for architecture. An amazing sight to behold. Nonetheless, we promenaded out of there and down to Las Rambas (ironically the sight of the terror attack). But, we had to see it, we had to walk it. Las Rambas is a pedestrian street filled with shops and people.  When you stand at the top and look down it looks like a river (of people) undulating down to the sea at the bottom of Las Ramblas.  It appears that no one does this walk in the opposite direction.  Everyone goes from the top down.

Halfway down on the right is La Boqueria, the spectacular, not-to-miss food market. Seafood in quantities like you have never experienced. So many different food carts. An impossibly vast colorful abundance of eating treasures.  Of course our group set up shop near the seafood station, and soon our table was overflowing with beers, rose and an astounding mountain of seafood. Lobster, langoustine, crab, mussels, clams piled bountifully on top of each other, a fantastic feast to behold.

 

 

 

 

After our resplendent banquet, we shopped in the narrow stone alley ways bursting with boutiques. Scarves and trinkets…chocolates, paintings and shoes! We all met up again at Barcelona Cathedral in the center of Old Town and not far off Las Ramblas. Construction on is was begun in the 1200s and the façade completed in 1889. It is a gorgeous Gothic Cathedral, grand and fine, a monument of overwhelming beauty. Flying buttresses, arches, vaulted ceiling, 28 side chapels and stained-glass perforating and enlightening this grand, soaring interior. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men.”

We took the train back down to Sitges, our picturesque sea-side village on the Mediterranean. We had dinner and then came back for breakfast at the cafes along the water. The town was alive with vacationers enjoying the weather, the water and the view. It was a perfect, relaxing, Zen-like way to end our whirl-wind trip about Spain and some of its superb treasures. I’m still processing everything we ate, drank, did and saw.