Montecillo Wines Rioja
Chief Winemaker Mercedes García Rupérez of Bodegas Montecillo visited New York with her team to showcase six of her excellent wines.
She has been with the winery for roughly fifteen years, but spent her life in wine as her father owned vineyards and she loved working among the vines.
The Rioja-based winery had been established in 1870 and is known for making wine in the traditional style.Yet one of the wines showcased had been made in what is known as the “more modern” style with less oak and more vivid fruit
Stunning Venue
The tasting and lunch took place in the new rooftop of the Ritz-Carlton, Nubeluz by José Andrés.
This stunning venue is described as a “lightbox in the sky.”
It brings together the Spanish word for cloud (“nube”) and for light (“luz”).
Nubeluz’s Chef Victor prepared dishes to match the food, delicious but also playful for the eye to behold.
The Montecillo Wine Tasting
Singladuras Albariño 2021
100% Albariño from Galicia
With its salty taste from the Atlantic sea (Galatia) it’s perfect for fish. Yet for the tasting had been paired with some of the chef’s playful interpretations of Spanish favorites, mostly Jamon-accented dishes.
The lemon-colored wine offered aromas of white flowers (marigold), almonds, touch of salt from sea, tangy acidity, medium body, medium plus length of finish
Montecillo Reserva 2014
This wine is made from 92% Tempranillo, and 8% Mazuelo.
It is garnet with red fruit flavors (strawberries) and represents a classic style of Rioja aged 24 months in a mix of French (65%) and American oak.
The wine was paired well with ham during the tasting but can also match with fish (salmon, oily fish). Silky mouthfeel on the palate, with perfectly polished and velvety tannins.
Montecillo Gran Reserva 2011
This wine is made from 92% Tempranillo, and 8% Graciano and comes from parcels of bush-trained vines on poor, sandy textured soils in the Rioja Alta area.
It spends 28 months in French barrels (85%) and additional time in bottle, ensuring that it is ready to drink upon release.
Delicious wine with aromas of leather and spice, with additional aromas released when one moves the glass.
Montecillo 2016 Limited Edition
This was made in a “modern” style with less oak and fresher focused fruit flavors. Unlike the traditional style, it’s fermented in small stainless-steel tanks.
Both Tempranillo (70%) and Graciano (30%) are used in the blend, aged separately until blended then put in a mix of French (60%) and American oak for 25 months.
Very deep purple black color, intense, structured velvet tannins, red and black cherries, pungent concentrated red/black firm cherries, very long length of finish, pleasant structured.
2015 22 Barricas
With its rich fruit and accents of vanilla from French oak, this was one of my favorite wines. Four small vineyards, planted with Tempranillo (50%), Graciano (30%), Garnacha (15%), and Mazuelo (5%) are given special TLC (tender loving care).
Then they age 30 months in high quality French oak Allier and Tronçais barrels, with an additional five years of bottle aging for five years before release.
The wine is made as a tribute to the founder Celestino Navajos and his winemaking style.
2005 Gran Reserva
Delicious, very highly allocated wine that is a blend of Tempranillo (70%), Graciano (20%), and Maturana Tina (10%) from a Rioja Alta estate, then aged sixty months in French barrels and twenty months more in bottles.
Special Treat 1973 Vintage
Lighter in color with strawberry and tobacco on the palate, this wine was absolutely delicious.
The Tasting Lunch
First Course: (to share)
Croquetas de Jamón
Pan Con Tomate
Tomato Goat Cheese Cone
Josés Taco
Second Course:
Grilled Seasonal Vegetables
with Romesco
China’s Sweetest Tomato Salad
Third Course:
Presa Jamon Olive Oil Mash Potatoes
Solomillo Jamon Confit Piquillos
Roasted Cauliflower, Cauliflower Puree, Lemon, Brown Butter Pinenut
Fourth Course:
Chef Victor’s Sweet Cones:
Smores, mont blanc (caramel milk cream), dulce de leche, thai basil
Add Your Heading Text Here
