Tastingdinner Resto Jeff: Spaanse degustatieavond

Special version of the fantastic "Efecte". Beware! This is not a "cava". Josep-Maria Albet i Noya, during his presidency of the D.O. Penedès, created a separate appellation of origin for the sparkling wines, outside the D.O. CAVA which he felt was too much under the influence of the big mastodons; Only grapes from organic vineyards are allowed. Indeed, Josep-Maria is the pioneer of organic wines across Spain. It is therefore for more than 25 years that his bubbles were chosen by the Roca brothers of the restaurant of the same name as their house aperitif. Especially for us, we were also allowed to import this house aperitif with the label of this top restaurant (2x best restaurant in the world) in Belgium. The Roca brothers make their own coupage every year on the estate, which is then bottled with their label. Top price/quality!

With his Viñátigo project, Jesús Méndez wants to revive the old ungrafted and disappearing grapes of the Canary islands. All cuvées are produced in very small quantities, and not every year, as the choice of varietal may change with the vintage. This Listan Blanco comes from 100+ year-old vines planted on young volcanic, well-drained soils, rich in minerals, in the North-Western part of Tenerife.

Louro is only the second wine of this estate but it illustrates the huge potential of Godello: it is a showcase for minerality and balance. Rafael says that he vinifies the Spanish Grüner Veltliner.

Entry-level wine from this house. Honest, tasty and super-fruity. Pétalos = flower petals. Mainly from vineyards in and around Corullón. Mainly Mencía, but also quite a few unknown white and red grape varieties from the region due to the use of vieilles vignes.

This entry level wine of the Comando G is a reference to an old Spanish TV character, la Bruja Averia (the injured witch). Inside the bottles is a very refined Grenache wine, as usual with the Comando G.

Embruix mainly comes from young vines, planted in the 90's, with a complement of some old Grenache and Carignan. But this wine was meant to please. And it does.

Granuja means mischievous in Spanish. This strange name is a tribute to Cote's maternal grandfather, Teofilo Reyes, who was the godfather of the Ribera wines, but who was also a joker. This Granuja is a blend of Tempranillo grapes from 5 different terroirs: two in Ribera del Duero (Gumiel and Baños de Valdearrados), Toro, Cigales and Valtiendas. The result is a surprising synergy between these 5 terroirs and the ultimate expression of what tempranillo can give you in Castille-Leon. A perfect tribute indeed for Teófilo !

P.X. is the abbreviation for Pedro Ximenez = Pieter Siemens; vines left by him in the 15th century in Andalucia were named after him. The Don PX is an example of how far one can go in residual sugar content with this grape.