Exploring the Iberian Peninsula parte uno

Although geographically an important part of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula is somewhat isolated from its Old World neighbors and boasts its own sense of history, topography, lifestyle and traditions. This past June, my wife Barbara and I led a group of 25 wine-loving friends on a wine, culinary and cultural adventure through this not-so-hidden treasure with an in-depth visit to Spain and Portugal.

Starting our adventure in Spain, we first visited Barcelona and the Catalan region with its surrounding wine country of Corpinnat in the Penedès to the northwest and Priorat in the steep slate hillsides to the southwest of the city. After several exciting days in this most intriguing area, we ventured on to Porto with day visits to Vila Nova de Gaia across the river and forays into the Douro Valley that is home to some of the world’s finest and most distinctive Quintas perilously perched with their terraced vineyards on the almost vertical slate mountainsides.

Barbara and I arrived a couple days early in Barcelona to ensure the details of our touring, tasting and dining schedule were in order. Several months of emails and early morning phone calls with vintners, winemakers, restaurateurs, chefs and sommeliers in planning each day’s activities, menus and wines proved just right to ensure a great adventure for all.

Naturally, when visiting the various wineries in both countries, we sampled a broad selection of their individual portfolios from their respective growing areas. But, when dining out at local restaurants each night, I seized on the opportunity of showcasing a far broader selection of wines that represented areas, varieties and blends from far and wide throughout each host country.

In all, through our tastings, lunches (mostly at host wineries) and dinners, we sampled about 100 different wines with very few duplicates. Each dinner was themed to express the individual personality of the restaurant and each course was designed to pair with the wine(s) chosen and the growing area(s) represented. We explored the limits and skills of countless growing areas, producers and indigenous varieties exhibiting vinous histories that spanned the centuries.

On our early arrival in Barcelona, we were greeted by General Manager and good friend Enric Garcia Arcauz at the Hotel Roger de Lluria in the heart of the city’s shopping and dining area. We were soon joined by Stephanie and Howard Sherwood, Susan and Joe Miller and Kerbanu and Viraf Pudumjee for a couple days on our own with tours planned by Howard to the Dali Museum, Girona and the Old Town Gothic region of Barcelona. Each tour was expertly led by guide extraordinaire Laura Coch of Laura’s Tours Barcelona.

When our group arrived, we met for a welcoming reception in the Club Room of the hotel for an array of locally inspired tapas and savory treats accompanied by Lagrima Baccus Cava, Izadi Rioja Crianza and Tranquillie de Torello Blanc. The reception gave our guests the chance to reconnect with friends from prior European trips we’ve shared together and meet the newcomers while reviewing our schedule and hearing highlights to come.

After the reception and a little time to freshen up after a day of travel, we walked a few blocks to our opening dinner at La Cuina de Laietana for a spectacular four-course dining experience. We began with a family-style service of tapas, cheeses, mussels and the traditional cod croquettes paired to a typical Catalan sparkling wine – Perelada Blanc Pescador. This was followed by a beautifully plated wild sea bass over a bed of seasonal vegetables and a Torres Gauda Albariño for a perfect complement.

Next was our main dish of a Paella with pork (a Catalonian tradition) accompanied by a delectable Misiva – a Crianza from Ribera del Duero. We finished the meal in true Spanish style with a Lustau Amontillado Los Arcos Sherry and a perfectly paired almond cake. What a great way to kick-off our culinary adventure Catalan style.

We began the first day of our journey with breakfast at the hotel before boarding our coach with driver Juaquim for a picturesque drive to the historic village of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia in the heart of the Penedés region well known for its Methode Tradionnelle (aka Méthode Champenoise in Champagne) sparkling wines of Cava. While made in the traditional method, the wines of Cava (primarily produced in this area but also in others throughout Spain) are mostly known for their acceptable quality and value pricing.

In 2014, a group of 11 producers known for extremely high quality and consequent premium pricing broke away from the Cava DO to form Corpinnat – a collective brand name in the EU derived from two Spanish words meaning “heart of the Penedés.” The Corpinnat producers are dedicated to produce sparkling wines under one of the wine world’s strictest quality codes.

All wines must be from 100 percent organic or biodynamic vineyards that are manually harvested and vinified on the property within the geographic area of Corpinnat. Extended aging in cask and bottle is required and any grower contracts must be long-term. Each member producer strives to deliver only the highest quality sparkling wines to dedicated Spanish consumers as well as a growing list of international export markets. Three principle and indigenous varieties are Xarel-lo, Macabeo (aka Viura in Rioja) and Parellada, but small additions of others such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are allowed.

Our first stop of the day was at Recaredo where we were greeted by CEO Ton Mata who, as the third generation of the Mata family, is following closely in the footsteps of his grandfather – Josep Mata Capellades who founded the winery in 1924. Working side-by-side with Ton was his very capable colleague Meritxell (Meri) Rodriguez who helped me with the planning and execution of our visit.

Following Ton through the caves that stretched beneath the streets of the town, we passed millions of bottles resting comfortably on their lees (dead yeast cells from the second fermentation in the bottle) until the time of disgorgement. At Recaredo the secondary fermentation is initiated by the addition of grape juice (rather than sugar) and yeast. The bottle is then sealed with cork (not the normal bottle cap seen in Champagne and elsewhere) and a clamp. All disgorgement is then done manually without freezing the capsule and no dosage is added as all wines are classified as Brut Nature.

Following our extensive tour through the cellars and disgorgement line, we convened upstairs with Ton and Meri for a Tapas lunch paired to four wines of Recaredo. We began with two still wines – 2022 Credo Miranius (Xarel-lo) and 2020 Credo Ratpenat (Macabeo). These were followed by two of their premier sparklers – 2019 Recaredo Terrers and 2017 Recaredo Serral del Vell – both with over 5 years on the yeast before hand-disgorgement.

On leaving Recaredo, we traveled a few minutes to Gramona to meet sixth generation Marti Gramona Simó who led us on another informational tour through the cellars and caves that culminated in an extensive tasting of their wines. Our first wine was their MART Rosé that is produced from Xarel-lo with a few hours of skin contact and was quite a refreshing treat.

Gramona also uses a cork/clamp closure with hand-disgorgement for a selection of their reserve style sparklers and the bottle cap and mechanical disgorgement for others. I especially enjoyed their Lustros Brut Nature bottling that struck individual notes of elegance and structure. Their Imperial bottling was more in the vein of classic Methode Tradionnelle with a dosage and mechanical disgorgement.

Our tasting proceeded with Marti showcasing various wines displaying their broad stylistic range and ending with a sweet Vi de Glass (ice wine) Riesling that took everyone by surprise. A unique wine from an area best known for indigenous varieties produced as dry table wines or Methode Traditionnelle sparklers.

As we returned from Corpinnat, the Festival of Sant Joan was beginning and the streets were filling with revelers. This holiday represents the start of summer and also the birth of St. John the Baptist and is one of the most important holidays of the year. We elected to have the evening free for everyone with dinner on our own and time to enjoy the celebration.

Since wineries are closed for the holiday and time is spent with families, we arranged a visit the following day at the historic Monastery at Montserrat with Laura Coch as our guide. The steeply spiked hillsides leading to and surrounding Montserrat contributed compelling vistas that made me wonder how did the construction workers manage to build such a spectacular edifice about 1500 years ago in the face of such geological challenges.

Some in our group hiked to the famous cross on the hillside while others visited the farmers’ market to sample a selection of local cheeses, honey and other tasty treats on the way to the open square and Monastery with its historic and religiously significant Black Madonna. After Laura’s well-orchestrated tour of the Monastery and surrounding grounds we were driven to the base of the mountain for a typical lunch at one of her favorite restaurants.

Our wine pairing dinner at the hotel that night was arranged by Enric and the tasting menu was executed under the very capable hand of Chef Carlos Ticona. Our tables were beautifully set and each plate enticed the eye as well as the palate. We began with an artichoke croquette paired to Alba de Miros Rueda (Verdejo) followed by a two-dish starter. Crayfish with Dashi cream with a Lustau Fino Sherry and duck ravioli in its own juice with an Abel Mendoza Rioja Crianza.

After a pause with a mouthwatering melon and mojito sherbet, we continued to a two-dish main course. Grilled turbot paired to a Picaro del Anguila Ribera del Duero and perfectly charred beef sirloin with wild mushrooms and vegetable paired to Pétalos del Bierzo (Mencia). A crunchy apple puff pastry with ice cream was a simple yet perfect way to end the meal paired to Ulises Gutierrez de la Vega Muscatel de Alicante.

On our last full day in Catalonia our driver Juaquim skillfully traveled the winding, steep and perilous roads to Priorat where the hillsides are composed of black slate and quartz known as Llicorella that is unique to the area.

Priorat has been designated as one of only two DOCa regions in Spain that is the country’s highest classification for a Denominació d'Origen Qualificado (DOQ). The other DOCa is the more familiar Rioja. The first recorded evidence of grape growing and wine production in Priorat dates from the 12th century, when the monks from the Carthusian Monastery of Scala Dei (founded in 1194) introduced the art of viticulture in the area.

Cariñena (aka Carignan) and Garnaxta Negra (aka Garnacha and Grenache) are the principle red grapes of the area and supported by Syrah and several others. For the rare whites found in Priorat we look to Garnaxta Blanca (aka Garnacha Blanca and Grenache Blanc) as the principle variety. The slate soils of the steeply terraced vineyards are vertically grained so they greatly enhance drainage and provide deep “highways” that encourage roots to descend 40 to 50 feet below the surface.

Our first stop in Priorat was at Scala Dei where we were immersed in the history, longevity and excellence of the vineyards and wines. On arrival, we were greeted by our guide Diego who introduced us to the wines and story of Scala Dei before leading us on an eye-opening tour of the facilities and barrel cellars. Much had changed since my first visit in 2017 and all of the improvements were evident in the wines we savored. We sampled a broad range of reds and whites made from historic blends as well as some single vineyard selections and varietal offerings.

We departed Scala Dei with a fresh impression of what this area is capable of producing and the extraordinary history behind the winery and Priorat. We drove to Hostel Restaurant Mussons for a locally inspired lunch with three Catalan wines. One discovery was a blend of Albariño and Pedro Ximenez (think Sherry) that was a delightful pairing to the starter tapas course.

Our afternoon found us at Mas Doix where I had worked with owner/founder Valenti Llagostera to arrange our visit, tour and tasting. Unfortunately, Valenti was called away from the winery and we found ourselves in the very capable hands of Lluis Willaert. The facility is state of the art and presents a great complement to the extensive estate vineyards and panoramic views from every corner.

We tasted a broad selection of the Mas Doix wines – both red and white varietal bottlings and blends – where each stood on its own but definitely exhibited the house style of structure, balance and textural appeal. Two standouts were the 1902 (100 percent Cariñena from vines planted in that year) and 1903 (100 percent Garnaxta from vines planted in that year). There is something magical when the fruit from 100-year old plus vines is managed and handled in just the right way.

On returning to Barcelona we readied ourselves for our “Farewell to Spain” dinner at Prodigi where chef/owner Jordi Tarré closed the restaurant for us and exhibited extraordinary talents both in the preparation and plate design of each dish. And wine director Cristina Rina Bonetti was quite helpful in sourcing the somewhat unusual wines we selected in our pre-planning conversations.

Our dinner began with an intriguing combination of crispy chicken and marinated mackerel with ponzu and sea fennel paired to 2021 L’Enclòs de Peralba El Tòfol (Macabeo). This very tasty starter was followed by white asparagus and foie raviolo with wasabi mayonnaise and matcha tea paired with a most unusual 2021 AT Roca Cantallops (Xarel-lo) for just the right accent.

Next, we savored morels in red curry with braised mini sweet corn, smoked baba-ganush and coriander sprouts paired to 2020 Viñedos del Jorco Las Cabañuelas Garnacha Tinta that complemented this multi-dimensional dish on so many levels. Our main course was Maldonado Iberian pork with Compté cheese aligot and black cardamom sauce that was an ideal match to the 2020 Bodegas Mengoba Brezo Mencía from Bierzo.

For dessert, Jordi prepared an eye-catching dark chocolate and honey ganache with hoisin whipped butter, rhubarb ice cream and cassis. Here the wine choice exemplified the complexity of our dining experience at Prodigi. The Espelt Arim is a fortified dessert wine of Garnacha made in the solera system similar to that of Sherry. A fascinating meal and wine to end our Catalonian adventure.

The next day we packed our bags and flew to Porto for the Portugal leg of our Iberian Peninsula adventure. Saludos brindis and more to come in two weeks!