lucy

23 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by in friends, tapas, tapas bars

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I first met Lucy @sparkybakewell at my 20th anniversary party seven years ago. Since then we’ve bumped into each other at various events or in the street, but more recently Lucy has become one of my Tapas Research pals. Turns out we have similar tastes in food and wine and it’s always helpful to have another opinion (as well as an extra stomach to be able to try more dishes).

On this occasion I was invited to lunch for two at the newly opened Barra Baja, since I had to miss their inauguration party last week. Food was great, not too sure about the wine list though. Full review will be up on Sevilla Tapas soon.

sherry twitter tasting 2019

22 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by in sherry, twitter, wine

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So these beauties have just arrived and now I’m all set for the Sherry Twitter Tasting 2019, Amontillado Edition, on November 5th, organised by Ruben @sherrynotes with the participation of the bodegas, the Consejo Regulador and us 15 lucky ducks who where chosen to take part.

The last time I did one of these was back in 2015 when I was chosen to participate in the Palo Cortado tasting.

Here’s the lineup…

  • Amontillado NPU (Sánchez Romate)

    A medium-aged example (15 years) with a rich and generous profile (vanilla, hazelnuts and a hint of sweetness). A classic Amontillado from Jerez.

  • Amontillado Principe de Barbadillo 12 Years (Barbadillo)

    Aged in Sanlúcar: 8 years under flor and 6 with oxygen. A good example of a spikey, maritime Amontillado.

  • Amontillado Tio Diego (Valdespino)

    One of the archetypes of Amontillado. After ageing for 10 years under flor, it ages further to a total 18 years. A single vineyard ‘Macharnudo Alto’ wine which evoques the albariza soil like no other.

  • Amontillado En Rama 2001 (Williams & Humbert)

    One of the latest Añadas from this bodegas, an Amontillado of 18 years, aged statically and therefore showing an above-average intensity and a unique character.

  • Fino Imperial VORS (Diez-Merito)

    One of the true gems of the sherry region, from a solera dating back to 1793. One of the very few natural Amontillados in existence – simply an amazing treat.

If you want to follow along pop onto Twitter on November 5th (19.00h CEST, UTV +1) and look for the #SherryTT hashtag.

más madrid

21 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by in gastronomy, getaways, madrid, tapas, tapas bars

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After an intense week of activities in Galicia it was nice to be able to get up at my leisure on Sunday morning. We had arrived in Madrid two hours later than scheduled on Saturday night, so didn’t actually get to the hotel until almost 11.00 pm. Luckily Andrew had recommended a nearby tapas bar, El Del Medio. I got in just before the kitchen closed and had time for a couple of tapas (hadn’t eaten since lunchtime!).

perfect smoked salmon on crispy toast with avocado, roasted vegetables

baked butifarra with mustard, mixed hot pickles, micro greens

On Sunday my train home was at 6.00 pm, so I made plans to have lunch at another place recommended by Andrew, Amano, which had just opened in August. When I went downstairs to have a bit of brekkie I ran into Rachel, who was leaving for Scotland that afternoon. After a couple hours chatting over coffee we checked out and then continued chatting for another couple of hours, this time over wine. It was great because although we’d been together for five solid days we hadn’t really had time to talk much. Anyhoo, by 2 pm we were both feeling a bit blurry so it was time to get our taxis, hers to the airport and mine to the train station.

Bag checked at Atocha, I made my way over to Amano for lunch. I was excited to try this place because Andrew had told me that it was run by Fran (former co-owner of Alabaster) and a chef that he’d partnered up with, so I was expecting good things. But I was still surprised by the amazing service. There was only bar space available when I got there, but I told them I lived in Sevilla and was used to sitting at the bar (Madrid is really more of a restaurant city). Then I asked for a glass of white wine and THIS happened…

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