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Posted on July 6, 2011 - by brooklynfermented

Señorio de P. Peciña Rioja Joven 2009 & Ossau-Iraty

Hermanos Peciña, Señorio de P. Peciña Joven 2009, DOCa Rioja (La Rioja, Spain), $12.⁹⁹/750ml – 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano, 2% Garnacha
Ossau-Iraty, Onetik cooperative (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France), $28/lb. – unpasteurized sheep milk

With the exception of vines as far as the eye can see, the most common sight in Rioja, situated in north-central Spain’s upper Ebro River valley, is probably locals tucking into chulletillas (baby lamb chops grilled over vine cuttings) and cordero asado al horno de leña (leg of lamb roasted in wood-fired ovens) at lunchtime. And since Riojanos have been working the vine here for well over a thousand years, it makes sense that the earthy, cherry/raspberry-scented, Tempranillo-based reds they’ve been turning out for so long should match the flavors of the local diet. The felicitous Tempranillo-lamb combo extends to Rioja and sheep cheese as well; Rioja and Manchego are in fact a classic match. Here silky, sweet, and buttery Ossau-Iraty, a shepherd cheese from the western Pyrénées of France with an ancient pedigree, stands in for its Spanish cousin. Joven, Spanish for ‘young,’ is Rioja’s entry-level red category/age designation and spends less than a year in oak barrels, if it sees any time at all. Peciña’s exuberant, but still recognizably old-world Joven adds sweet tones to the cheese’s unmistakable meatiness, while simultaneously echoing, albeit subtlety, a decidedly umami savory character also apparent in the cheese.

Wine: Slope Cellars, 436 7th Avenue (14^th & 15^th), Brooklyn, NY. tel. (718) 369-7307

Cheese: Bklyn Larder, 228 Flatbush Ave. (Bergen & 6^th Ave.), Brooklyn, NY. tel. (718) 783-1250

Posted on June 21, 2011 - by brooklynfermented

Gurrutxaga Txacolí Rosé & Queso de los Beyos

Gurrutxaga Txacolí Rosé 2010 DO Bizkaiko Txakolina (País Vasco), $22.⁹⁹/750ml – 100% Hondarribi Beltza
Queso de los Beyos (Asturias, Spain), $19/lb. – unpasteurized cow milk

Once upon a time, Txacolí, the Basque Country’s national aperitif, hardly ever made it out these good-eating and good-drinking communities. Now, serious shops in the U.S. tend to keep a bunch on hand. And with good reason: these wines refresh and pique the palate nicely. Roses are also now in the mix, and Gurrutxaga is the finest I’ve tasted.

The firm, pasteurized Asturian cow’s milk Queso de los Beyos, slightly dry at first but creamy once it melts in the mouth, gets fruity in the mouth with a little sip of this otherwise rather austere wine. Owing to its Parmesano-like texture, Beyos is also a great cheese to break up into shards and to serve with fresh berries of any kind, the better to compliment the strawberry fruitiness of this fine summer rosado.

Posted on April 25, 2011 - by Adrian Murcia

Domaine de Cabasse Séguret Blanc and Pleasant Ridge Reserve Extra Aged

Domaine de Cabasse Séguret Blanc “Les Primevères” 2008, AOC Séguret Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages (Vaucluse, France), $17.⁹⁹/750ml - 30% Grenache Blanc, 25% Roussanne, 25% Viognier, 20% Clairette

Pleasant Ridge Reserve Extra Aged, Upland Farms Dairy (Dodgeville, Wisconsin), $34/lb. unpasteurized cow milk

Domaine de Cabasse’s floral and tropical-fruity white blend got its name from the colorful primrose (primevères) blossoms that dot the landscape here in spring, a fitting name for this fresh and perfumed warm-weather gulper. Séguret, a picturesque hilltop town overlooking the Cabasse vineyards, is one of only 19 villages in the Rhône valley of France allowed to append its name to the more generic Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages wine appellation. Dodgeville. Wisconsin’s Upland Farms Dairy makes its Pleasant Ridge Reserve with milk from pastured cows only, crafting this American treasure on the alpine, grass-loving calendar: May to October only. Alongside complex creamy and meaty aromatic notes, Pleasant Ridge can also offer astounding pineapple-like tropical fruitiness. Here it’s all about complementary notes; no sharp contrasts in flavor or texture: just rich, creamy, pineapple-y goodness and a long, seamless finish.

Wine: Slope Cellars, 436 7th Avenue (14^th & 15^th), Brooklyn, NY. tel. (718) 369-7307

Cheese: Bklyn Larder, 228 Flatbush Ave. (Bergen & 6^th Ave.), Brooklyn, NY. tel. (718) 783-1250

Posted on March 6, 2011 - by Adrian Murcia

Table-Slamming Match: Cabot Cloth-bound Cheddar and Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Reserva 2004

This is about a flavor match between a wine, Marqués de Murrieta 2004 Reserva, and a cheese with an unusually long name, Cabot Cloth-bound Cheddar Aged at the Jasper Hill Farm, encountered quite by accident during a class I co-taught at Murray’s Cheese two years ago, the kind of match so good, so emotionally satisfying, that one feels the urge to slam the table with one’s fist.

murrays1v2 Perhaps “accident” is not quite accurate. Bordeaux is the wine-and-cheese pairer’s go-to choice for classic Cheddar, so I threw in a twist by selecting a Rioja bodega with an unmistakable Bordeaux pedigree and a wine with a recognizable Old World character. The 2004 Reserva offers a classic Rioja cigar box aromatic profile and slightly vegetal nose–I seem to remember the bodega having some grandfathered Cabernet Sauvignon vines–the better to complement a cheese with root cellar notes and a vegetal character of its own.