Salón de Gourmets Madrid - Day 4

14-Apr-10 - Having missed out on a visit to the Mercado de San Miguel last Monday I was determined to get there today, and so spent just the morning (well, until about 14:00) at the show. As I was enjoying my regular 'Spanish breakfast' (coffee and brandy) in the cafeteria I was approached by Carmen Muñoz, who was staying in the same hotel and had spotted me in the foyer. She's the export manager of Bodegas Sauci in the DO Condado de Huelva, which is another relatively obscure region which I like to investigate when I have the opportunity (see post of 30-Mar-09): their main stock in trade was fortified wines in the Sherry style, (digression alert!) made famous in the fourteenth century by Chaucer in 'The Pardoner's Tale':

Now kepe yow fro the white and fro the rede,
And namely fro the white wyn of Lepe
That is to selle in Fysshstrete or in Chepe.
This wyn of Spaigne crepeth subtilly
In othere wynes, growynge faste by,
Of which ther ryseth swich fumositee
That whan a man hath dronken draughtes thre,
And weneth that he be at hoom in Chepe,
He is in Spaigne, right at the toune of Lepe,
Nat at the Rochele, ne at Burdeux toun.

The town of Lepe is within the province of Huelva (although outside the modern-day DO Condado de Huelva), and it seems that the wines were legendary even in those days, and apparently on sale in Fish Street (London EC3) and Cheapside (London EC2). Chaucer's use of the word 'fumositee' implies that wines from Huelva were fortified at that time - no-one really knows when fortification of Andaluz wines began, although it is believed that the Moors, who ruled much of Spain from 711 until 1492 AD, introduced distilling. Until 1933, when the Sherry Consejo Regulador was founded (although it wasn't called that then), the wines were cheerfully shipped down the coast to Jerez for blending with Sherry. Since then the region has had to find a different role for its wines, although the fortified Condado Pálido (Fino type) and Condado Viejo (Oloroso type) are still made, and generally represent excellent value for money.

(Further digression alert!) Interestingly, too, Chaucer mentions La Rochelle which was originally the main port for the export of Cognac (although Cognac wasn't made until the 16th century, so the town would have been exporting wine at that time) and Bordeaux which, since the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henry II of England in 1152 was an offshore part of England and which was shipping wine, duty free, in large quantities. The Worshipful Company of Vintners had been established in London in 1363 and it's as well to remember that Chaucer's father was a wine merchant.

(Further further digression alert!) Chaucer rhymes the town of Lepe with 'cheap' but, of course, its modern-day pronunciation rhymes with 'Pepe'. In popular culture the jokes which the English used to tell about the Irish, the Irish told about people from County Kerry, the French told about the Belgians, the Belgians told about the Dutch etc., etc. (these are not allowed any more, of course, as they are not politically correct) are told in Spain about 'Fernando from Lepe'. This is, perhaps, from the comic actor José Álvarez (1890-1967) who was known as 'Lepe', or, indeed, it may be that he took his pseudonym from the town because the jokes were already extant (he was born and died in Madrid). In either case, at one time the mayor of Lepe became so fed up with its reputation that, working on the basis that 'if you can't beat 'em, make a profit out of 'em', instituted a clowning festival which brought very welcome tourist income to the city. (All right, digressions over).

So, getting back to the job in hand, later in the morning I found my way to the Condado de Huelva stand and met up with Carmen. Sauci does not own vineyards but buys in musts and wines for blending and ageing (in Jerez it would be called an almacenista). The bodega produces wines from joven afrutado (100% Zalema - pleasant, undistinguished) all the way up to PX and the new classic style (well, all right, since about 1850) of vino naranja, fortified with spirit which has been used to marinate the skins of Seville oranges (no, honestly. They're all doing it now):

Sauci Espinapura (Condado Pálido)  - 100% Palomino, 15% abv, 4 years solera - lovely flor freshness, clean on the nose; also clean, fresh and light on the palate, rather like a Manzanilla - delicious - 16/20 - €5

S' Naranja (Generoso de Licor) - Palomino and PX, 15% abv, 10 years solera - orange-scented, I wrote 'Terry's chocolate orange' in my notes; on the palate the orange flavour doesn't dominate and it comes across as a pleasant 'after dinner' type drink. Interesting - €12

S' PX (Vino Dulce Natural) - 15% abv - toffee with a hint of citrus on the nose, and a lovely, rich freshness (I wrote 'Montilla-style' but they'll probably hate that), clean fruit and a clean finish with 'toffee-apple' flavours - 17/20 - €13 (50 cl)

S' PX Solera 1989 - 15% abv - again that hint of citrus on the nose, fragrant and very softly-sweet on the palate, clean and gentle on the finish - delicious - 16/20 - €20 (50 cl)

These are, by and large, excellent wines and ridiculously cheap... But you try selling them in the UK. Interestingly, during the tasting with Carmen who should come by but Marta Angulo from 'A Taste of Spain', for whom I'd done a presentation at Alimentaria a couple of weeks ago (see post of 25-Mar-10). She is based in Andalucía, too, in Cádiz. It's a small world.

So, off to the Mercado de San Miguel. My colleague Ana Vitienes, who runs a food and drink PR agency in Madrid, wrote a piece for YES CHEF! Magazine singing the praises of the market which was reopened after a major revamp in May, 2009. It's a relatively small complex but with a wide range of  stalls - meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, and various bars and cafeterias, humming with activity. If you're a lover of fresh produce, olive oil and good wine, this is a must-visit in Madrid, and it's only a stone's throw from the Plaza Mayor. It's open from 10:00 to midnight Sunday-Wednesday and 10:00 until 02:00 Thursday-Saturday. As a venue for after-theatre drinks, it's a magnet for the city's trendies: a fabulous place.

Our final 'formal' event of the trip was dinner at Ramón Freixa, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the Hotel Selenza in the calle Claudio Coello. Freixa is a Catalan from Barcelona, where his family has run a restaurant for yonks, and he now also consults for a restaurant in Melbourne, writes books, appears on telly etc., etc.

Anyway, the meal was excellent, kicking off with an amazing 'washing line' of crispy nibbles (hard to describe) but absolutely fabulous breads, French unsalted butter and Catalan olive oil, The main menu is very inventive, including a duck-burger with mustard ice-cream (I passed on the ice-cream) and loads of puds - apparently Freixa is an ambitious pâtissier. I was most impressed by a dessert of tiny fruit including an apple the size of a cherry, covered in gold leaf. There was also a basket made of 'Rice Krispies', delicious membrillo and a tiny marshmallow, a chocolate 'wedge' and, well, quite a lot of chocolate. We finished off with coffee and La Bota de Brandy from Equipo Navazos in Montilla. This was an excellent finish to a wonderfully-organised trip. Nothing could go wrong...

Pictures to follow