Laredo has long been one of Madrid’s top destinations for food and, particularly, wine. In fact, whenever any winemakers I know come to the capital, I’ll usually get a message saying, “We’re in Laredo” at some point.
So, what are the secrets to its success? It lies with the respectful and passionate, but non-stuffy attitude to wine of Miguel, the brother in charge of the cellar, the excellent food based on the best quality ingredients (David’s remit), along with efficient service in the fast paced bar, for which we have the third brother, Javier, to thank.
It was a salesman for Cordorniu, whose head office was just metres from the original location of Taberna Laredo, who first got Miguel into wine. After taking part in a harvest at Raimat (Codorniu’s project in Costers del Segre) there was no question that wine would go on to play a large part in the Laredo project from 1993 to the present day.
Laredo has a moderately long wine list that covers over 20 Spanish regions, as well as a handful of wines from neighbouring countries. It includes many classics from Ribera del Duero and Rioja –from wineries like Emilio Moro- that Miguel says make perfect sense commercially, although personally he finds the fringes of the Spanish wine scene –regions like Ribeira Sacra, Bierzo, Montsant, the Canary Islands, Mallorca and grape varieties such as Garnacha and Listán Negro– much more exciting.
The fact that the wine list is on a tablet makes it easy to change and incorporate new wines, but the really interesting stuff happens in the bar, where the offer of wines by the glass changes on a monthly basis. There are always interesting magnums of Rioja and Ribera, but here Miguel’s desire to show wines that express their terroir can run wild, with natural wines, and those from smaller, more artisanal wineries that they couldn’t include on the main list. And the pricing is very favourable, running from €2.50 to €3.20 per glass to encourage people to come and drink wine rather than beer.
And what of food and wine matching, does Miguel have a favourite pairing? Although they used to do a lot of matching, Miguel says that the emphasis now is simply on good wine and good food; he does encourage people to choose the wine before selecting the food, but he is quite happy to serve the same wine alongside starters, fish and dessert.
The food itself is simple but of top quality, changing with the seasons to incorporate the best quality products available on a daily basis. In summer, the salad of crayfish, burrata, avocado and dried tomato and the salmorejo are personal favourites, followed by grilled whole fish. When the weather is cooler, the daily rice and bean dishes can be relied upon to please, along with the confit suckling pig with truffled potato and the well-marbled entrecote of long aged beef. A.H-N.
