Madrid - The Finale

21-Apr-10 - I'd been invited to visit a new bodega in the DO Vinos de Madrid during my stay, but the Gourmets week had been too busy. Now, of course, I was cooling my heels in the hotel and waiting for a flight, so I was able to arrange a visit after all. The Valquejigoso estate is about an hour's drive from the airport in Villamanta, in the Navalcarnero subzone, south-west of the city. I was picked up by Christopher Vanpoulle, from the agency which represents the bodega internationally and we duly arrived at this magnificent 1,000 ha hunting estate (deer and wild boar roam free) at around 11:00. Only 46 ha are under vines, planted in 1998, and mostly the 'usual suspects' - Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, etc. - but also, I was delighted to see, the much-maligned Negral (aka Garnacha Tintorera - the one with the pink juice) which, in the hands of a skilled winemaker, can produce excellent results.

I may have mentioned (many times, many, many times [© Lady Counterblast], Ed.) That, as a result of my creaking joints, I ask not to have to walk around endless lookalike vineyards, fermenting halls, barrel cellars and bottling lines, but the boss of Valquejigoso, Félix Colomo, had an ingenious solution: they had prepared a pallet-truck with a pallet on it and, upon the pallet, a chair so that I could be wheeled comfortably through to the barrel cellars for the tasting (other bodegas please copy!). This was in the company of winemaker Aurelio García who put up several cask samples for us to evaluate: he makes up the final blend every year after tasting all the 'ingredients', so what we tasted was, in large part, the raw material from which he will make up his final wines. He batch-ferments in small oak tinas (Bordeaux oak - new for the barricas - is used throughout) and the estate produces just one wine currently, although eventually there will be three including an experimental white made from Albillo.

Marks given below for the wines are a bit arbitrary as most of the samples were direct from the cask and not yet confirmed for the blend, but may give some idea of the overall quality.

2008 Negral - lovely smoky perfume, hint of oak, concentrated fruit, working tannins on the mid-palate and a good, big finish. Tremendous potential from this 'despised' grape - 18/20

2008 Merlot (caliza parcel) - a bit tight and rather closed on the nose, but Merlot is usually a minority in the blend; strong tannins on the mid-palate and on the finish - needs time but I did write 'you can taste the chalk' - 17/20

2008 Petit Verdot - lovely perfume with big, spicy, brambly fruit, very clean on the nose; big concentrated fruit and big tannins coming together on the finish. Aurelio says it needs another 12 months - 17/20

2008 Cabernet-Sauvignon - subtle blackcurrant fruit, but a bit closed; but great structure on the palate with big tannins, power, tremendous weight and complexity on the finish - 18/20

2009 Cabernet-Franc - big, spicy, concentrated fruit on the nose; huge tannins but magnificent structure on the palate: this will be outstanding - 18/20

2009 Tempranillo - lovely perfume, and I wrote 'striking' fruit and spice; big structure on the palate, lots of tannin but big, powerful fruit. Aurelio says it won't be ready until 2013 - 18/20

2009 was a 'complicated' year, according to Aurelio, and they had to work 'hard and smart' to make it happen, but he's pleased with the quality for ageing. I wrote down that 'structure' would be the keyword to describe his style of winemaking, and he's fortunate to have the investment back-up from Félix to make wines the way he wants to. It will be very interesting to see what eventually emerges.

After the tasting we repaired to the Posada de la Villa in the city which (along with neighbouring El Schotis and Las Cuevas de Luís Candelas under the Plaza Mayor) belongs to Félix Colomo, so food and beverage service was exemplary (I'm sure it always is, but you never know if you're dining with the boss. Did I ever tell you about my experiences at [censored, Ed.] in London? When lunching with the owner and then, on a subsequent visit, paying with my own money? The latter visit was not a success, and my [American] guests were unimpressed.)

Anyway, they served up my all-time favourite Spanish meal: tapas followed by gambas al ajillo followed by perhaps the best cordero asado I've ever had (and that's saying something), cafe con leche and Carlos I. This was a splendid finale to my adventurous week in Madrid.

Interestingly, many of the chairs at the restaurant are adorned with the names of famous people who have eaten there, and, to my astonishment on Friday 21-May-10 I received this picture from my hosts. It must be a misprint:

And, early though it was, the service from the hotel and Air Europa was exemplary the following morning, from the girl on the check-in desk who went and found me a chair to the in-flight service (they'd upgraded me to business class), to the milk-float driver at Gatwick who delivered me direct to the car park where my taxi was waiting, and home by lunchtime. You remember how the late Pope John-Paul II used to get off the plane, kneel, and kiss the ground? Well, much as I love Madrid, after 12 days away, I know exactly how he felt.

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