A traditional Rioja dinner usually calls to mind roast lamb, Manchego and Ibérico ham. The menu Catch Dallas built for its recent wine dinner with La Rioja Alta took a different approach, pairing one of Spain’s most classic producers, La Rioja Alta, with hamachi crudo, miso-glazed sea bass and a center-cut filet. The evening made a persuasive case that long-aged Rioja is far more versatile at the table than its reputation suggests.
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by Andrew Chalk
Bodegas Franco Espanolas is a wine maker founded in 1896 in the town of Logroño by Spanish and French vignerons to produce Rioja wine. Today, the winery is totally under Spanish ownership and committed to producing quality wines in the traditional Rioja style. Last week, export director John Perry came through town to show the latest vintages of the company’s wine and I was an invited guest at a trade tasting.
Franco Espanolas wines’ intrigued me not least because they appeared to be such good values. Furthermore, most Rioja nowadays is in what is called the ‘modern’ style of forward fruit and French oak. By contrast, Franco Espanolas expressly adheres to the traditional style of using American oak for ageing. Also, a winery characteristic is that they age their wines longer in oak and in bottle than is legally required. The result is a better consumer experience on purchase as a result of finding the wines nearer peak aging. Continue reading
Filed under Andrew Chalk
