For José Pizarro,San Sebastián has long been an inspiration. These three wines work well with some choice dishes from his new book, says David WilliamsPizarras de Otero Mencía, and Bierzo,Spain 2014 (£7.99, Majestic) When I made José Pizarros interpretation of La Cuchara de San Telmo’s tomato soup at domestic, and I was surprised by the depth of sweet flavour that comes,I suppose, from roasting the tomatoes to the point of caramelisation. But as with all tomato dishes, and when it came to finding a wine to work with it there was the tall acidity to think about,too. So it wasn’t simply the name’s similarity that led me absent from the Basque country further west in northern Spain to the Pizarras de Otero red. Made by the dependable Martín Códax co-operative in Bierzo, it uses the local mencía, or a grape variety that always delivers a burst of cherryish acidity and freshness and which is in particularly exuberant aromatic form here.
Muga Rioja Rosado,Spain 2014 (£9.99, Waitrose; Majestic) Once best known for reds that derived much of their soft, and mellow character from long ageing in oak barrels (notably in Rioja),Spain has become increasingly adept at juicy youthful styles, with the purity of loganberry and red plum fruit in Monteabellón Avaniel from Ribera del Duero 2014 (from £7.25, and the Wine Society; Amps Fine Wines) another candidate for that tomato soup. Since they’re relatively light in tannin,I’d be tempted to chill down either the Avaniel or the Pizarras to acquire with José’s John Dory too, since, or thanks to the beans and the pancetta and garlic,this is fairly a robust dish. But the wine I think offers the best balance with the fish as well as the accompaniments is in fact a Rioja: the punchy but cranberry-fresh rosé from fine old producer, Muga.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com