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Tag: València

Wine bars and restaurants and Wine of the Week

Orange at Egget, Stavanger

Mariano Taberner is one of the highest esteemed makers of natural wine near the Spanish eastern coast. Last time in the region I almost made it to his place, but I didn’t manage due to unpredicted circumstances.

Last Tuesday I was surprisingly able to taste two of his wines at Egget (The Egg) in Stavanger, Norway, close to where I live. This is a unique place in my part of the world, a restaurant with a focus on natural wines, and with well-prepared dishes to go with them. Here is a report from a former visit.

This time we were accompanied by sommelier Mikela Tomine, wine student in the WSET system, and Nikita, from the kitchen. I was accompanied by my daughter, and they easily juggled her vegan options.

Egget’s Mikela preparing a cheeseboard for a customer

The wine is made in the small village  La Portera in DO Utiel-Requena, Valencia. Bodegas Cueva dates back to the 18th century, and still only uses traditional methods. Here is full respect for the environment, biodiversity, and health too, claims Mariano Taberner. The main grapes for reds are the central/northern tempranillo and bobal, a more local grape (and the variety behind our other Cueva wine that night).

The average production is only 20.000 bottles. All wines are made in the most natural way, from organically grown grapes, spontaneous fermentation, no chemicals, unfined and unfiltered – nothing added, nothing taken away. The wine in question is based on the varieties tardana and macabeo, The local tardana is so named because of the very late ripening, and still at the end of October the alcohol, or more correctly: the sugar content, is very low. Macabeo is then harvested one month ago, and the finished macabeo is slowly blended with the freshly made tardana. Fermentation for both is largely with skins. The two undergo the secondary, malo-lactic fermentation together.

Mariano Taberner (credit: B. Cueva)

Orange Tardana & Macabeo 2015 (Bodegas Cueva)

Deep orange colour, slightly cloudy. Aroma of orange peel, white flowers, and a touch of tropical fruits and white pepper. Round and luscious in the mouth, grapey, with just enough acidity to keep it together, and an agreeable orange peel-bitterness in the finish.

Price: Medium

Food: I had it with skate wing and celeriac, with slices of green apple, and an aïoli with less garlic than usual. But it should go with a variety of fish and seafood, the rice dishes of the region (paella style), vegetarian/vegan dishes, light meat, carpaccio and more

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Wine of the Week

6th Element, València

In Venta del Moro, in DO Utiel-Requena in the western València province, is where the Sexto Elemento bodega is located. The vines where the grapes for this wine are sourced are around 70 years old. They are cultivated in a traditional manner, without chemical additions and no fertilization. The grapes are harvested when they are fully mature. The variety in question is bobal, a variety that didn’t have a good reputation in the past, but for Sexto Elemento it’s extraordinary and present in the area for centuries.

There was a long maceration in deposits of 1000 liters at low temperatures (18-24ºC). The fermentation started with only natural yeasts and was carried out in barriques, and the wine had a year of ageing in French and American oak over fine lees with periodically stirring. And the 6th element? Wine, according to the producer.

Sexto Elemento 2012 (Sexto Elemento)

Dark cherry red. Mature fruit, flowery, blackcurrant, cherries and a hint of toffee. Rich and round in the mouth, with rounded tannins and some sweetness from the fruit.

Price: Medium

Food: Game, light meats, tapas, hard cheeses

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