Rioja whites with cheese: a winning combination. Photo: Amaya Cervera.
A few months ago, I received an unusual and intriguing invitation to attend a cheese and white Rioja tasting organized for the local press by the region’s appellation body at Lavinia, a well-known wine store in central Madrid.
Rioja has been undoubtedly focused on reds for many years; with Tempranillo gaining more presence on the vineyards, the region is aware of the rising international demand for whites and has shifted part of its promotional efforts towards white wines.
The decision to allow plantings of non-native varieties such as Verdejo, Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay is more dubious and presents a great paradox — the ongoing unwillingness to allow Cabernet Sauvignon contrasts with its white counterpart being accepted virtually overnight.
The tasting did not include any wines made from these new varieties —plantings are very recent— but featured some really interesting selections such as Qué Bonito Cacareaba 2012 by Benjamín Romeo or Capellanía 2009 by Marqués de Murrieta, both in need of further time in the bottle; Viña Tondonia Reserva 1999, with a unique, polished style, good acidity and great aromatic complexity; or a fabulous Remelluri Blanco 2011 which was markedly intense and complex.
Los quesos de L’Amélie, a store owned by French-Spanish duo Sandrine Nasline and Javier García, took care of the cheese selection. Cheese expert Guillermina Sánchez Cerezo, who works alongside them, led the tasting and explained the reasoning behind the pairings.
The tasting was useful to prove the versatility of white wines as opposed to reds when it comes to cheese pairing. Additionally, Guillermina’s vision was particularly interesting given that she trained in wine —she worked as a sommelier at Lavinia in Madrid— before moving over to the cheese sector, where she has continued her professional career. “The texture of the cheese is the key element for a perfect pairing with wine”, she reveals.
The habit of pairing cheese with red wine as a first option is rather common in Spain. No wonder, given the fact that the country has focused on red wine production over the last decades. The “white revolution” under way over the past 20 years has shaken up this scenario with an array of well-defined wines that open up new and intriguing possibilities.
Guillermina Sánchez is convinced that whites are tremendously versatile when it comes to pairing them with milk-based products or others with predominant dairy notes as they do not mask cheese flavors. Perhaps it’s best to experiment first hand the four suggestions she has picked out.
Garrotxa with Verdejo. Made with goat’s milk, this Catalan cheese is softer —as is the case in most northern Spanish cheeses— than those from Andalucía. Cured for two months, it has the typical acidity found on goat’s cheese which pairs very well with a crisp young Verdejo with fruit and herbal notes.
Torta del Casar with Amontillado. Guillermina Sánchez is a staunch advocate of sherries to pair with cheese —both Finos and Manzanillas marked by flor and Olorosos, aged oxidatively, show an impressive array of nuances. Torta del Casar is a creamy cheese which is eaten with a spoon. Made from raw sheep’s milk, it is Extremadura’s most popular cheese and also well known in the rest of Spain. Amontillado combines yeast derived aromas with oxidative aromas —it starts life as a biologically aged Fino under flor and ends as an oxidatively aged wine. Showing a higher degree of complexity than a Fino, it maintains fine saline notes which go very well with the cheese’s creaminess.
Cured Manchego with Garnacha Blanca. Mentioned in Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Manchego is Spain’s most famous cheese. To pair this hard sheep’s cheese cured for about six months, Guillermina Sánchez suggests white Garnacha wines. Their oily, glyceric character goes well with the cheese’s sandy texture and tangy flavour, which is more persistent as curation times increase.
Idiazabal with barrel-aged white Rioja. Idiazabal is a hard cheese made from raw milk of Latxa and Karrantzana sheep in the Basque and Navarra regions of northern Spain. Smoked versions are the most popular both in Spain and in the export markets. Its characteristic smoky flavor goes well with barrel-aged Rioja whites, says Sánchez, because they offer consistency, structure and toasty oak notes. At the DOCa Rioja tast-ing, we tried an unsmoked Idiazabal matured for six months which was a match made in heaven for a Remelluri blanco. A blend of Garnacha Blanca, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Roussanne, this wine is rather more exotic than the usual Rioja whites. Winemaker Telmo Rodríguez would argue that the grape varieties are a secondary issue —his only obsession is to bring out the soil and terroir’s character of the coolest and highest vineyards at his family estate on the foothills of Toloño mountain.
Below are some recommended addresses in Madrid and Barcelona for those willing to try professionally-led Spanish wine and cheese pairings such as these.
Poncelet Cheese Bar. From its initial store in Argensola St. in Madrid, Poncelet has popularized cheese culture under the slogan “Say cheese!”. It boasts about having set up the first cheese maturing centre in Spain in 2009 and offers catering services, tastings and sells online. Cheese and wine fans can head to their Cheese Bars in Madrid and Barcelona; they stock over 150 artisan cheeses from 11 countries, most of them made from raw milk, and a 100-strong wine list with national and international brands includ-ing sparkling, sweet, fortified and a small selection of beers.
Madrid: José Abascal, 61, Madrid. Tel.: +34 913 992 550
Barcelona: Avinguda de Sarrià, 50. Tel.: +34 932 49 22 00
La Teca. Part of Vila Viniteca —one of Spain’s leading wine retailers and négociants—and located right next to its Born store in central Barcelona, it offers endless options to pair wine and cheese. Eva Vila, sister of owner Quim Vila, is the expert who selects the 350 cheeses which are matured onsite at the store. Other gourmet products are available for sale such as ham, cold meats, olive oils and preserves. There is a tasting area where customers can match any of the foods on sale with wine and where tasting courses and pairings are held.
Agullers 9. 08003 Barcelona. Tel.: +34 933 101 956.
Los Quesos de L'Amélie. Launched in 2010 by Sandrine Nasline and her Spanish-born French-educated husband, Javier García. They are focused on artisan cheeses made by small producers breeding their own livestock both in Spain and abroad. Maturation and ripening is an important element for them. They organize numerous course and activities and their tasting bar, usually pairing cheese with wines and other drinks.
Calle Torrecilla del Puerto, 5, 28043 Madrid. Tel.: +34 913 881 265
