The private ‘dining room’ in the Tapas Lounge can seat 12-14 people and serves short-eats and wine, One can go in a group or as an individual and one can spot the Australian cellar master Kavita Faiella and her American counterpart Krishna (both bianca/bianco, in wine lingo-with no trace of Indian blood or pigmentation) who chat with the clients about wine in a friendly and informal atmosphere. But the evening of April 22 was full of guests spilling out of this room into the Lounge, enjoying an unending stream of Tapas accompanied by the slightly fizzy white aperitif wine.
Txakolina Getariako 2007 produced by Ulacia is made from the local Hondurabi grape. This 2007 vintage DO (Denomination of Origin equivalent to Italian DOC wines) from the San Sebastian area in the Basque country, bordering France and considered as the Michelin Starred Restaurant capital of Europe is as indigenous as it can get. The wine had a slight touch of carbon dioxide fizz that gave a pleasant tingling sensation to the tongue. The tart green apple flavour and the crisp acidity made it a perfect aperitif wine to start the evening.
When the guests were guided to the Lodhi Restaurant serving cuisine from Cataluña (the north-eastern Spanish state that encompasses cities like Barcelona), they were seated in a pre-selected order in the no-fuss but elegantly decorated restaurant almost filled to capacity.
When I had met Alejandro Ortiz (Alex), the Singapore based international consultant working with the Aman group, at the Vinoble wine show in Jerez last summer, he surprised me by disclosing that The Aman in Delhi would be serving 12 sherry-by-the-glass labels in this restaurant. So it was not surprising to find three on the evening menu-all from the well-known sherry house, Bodega Emilio Lustau in Jerez.
In fact the evening started with Manzanilla (a dry Fino sherry produced in the neighbouring sea coast town of Sanlucar de Barrameda) served with ice-cold Almond soup given the Catalonian touch with the olive oil. This fortified wine with only 15% alcohol was slightly savoury with nutty flavour. Though the chilled sherry was a perfect mate for the soup, it could have handled any of the Tapas served in the Longe below.
If one were to name the top three whites wines from Spain, certainly one of them that goes well with connoisseurs and novices alike is the Albariño grape varietal from the Rías Baixas (Spanish term for lower fjords) region bordering Portugal in the north-westerly state of Galicia, this fruity, elegant, aromatic and medium bodied complex wine from Lagar De Cervera was a perfect match for the wood-oven roasted vegetables. This varietal is sure to grow in popularity exponentionally with wine connoisseurs with deeper pocket as it is a bit on the expensive side at the source, and the guests tonight were clearly hooked to one of the unique Spanish white wines.
Many times when people describe a wine to me, they say it is too strong. When I tell them to be a bit more specific as there is really no wine term describing a strong wine, they predictably mean the wine is too tannic, powerful, alcoholic, heavy, long or acidic. First taste of the next wine, Neil Blanco 2006 from Priorat in the Cataluña region, and my impression of it was a ‘strong wine’- a rather strong word for a white wine.
It was almost full bodied, concentrated, spicy, very crisp and high on alcohol (14%) for a white. A rather unusual wine made with warm weather grape Garnacha blanco- white Grenache (60%), reinforced with the French grapes Pinot Noir (12%), Viognier(15%) and the Roussanne . An interesting wine, it is certainly not an aperitif wine and I am still not sure if I loved it or not- a different food pairing might help reach a stronger conviction. Suffice it to say that it went quite well with the saffron rice dish with grilled scallops- as also with the paella with peas, mint and lemon for the vegetarians.
San Roman1999 from Maurodo in Toro was a full bodied red wine from my favourite region of Castilla y Leon, which along with Ribera del Duero and Cigales is giving a run for the money to the close-by, famous Rioja wines). One could focus more on this wine as the grilled tuna was a rare steak that did not go well with most guests at our table. The tasting portion of chorizo was a saviour as it went perfectly with the 100% Tempranillo-based wine with a lot of personality and complexity.
Perhaps the chef had a whiff of the Delhi denizens not appreciating a rare piece of meat. So the next dish was the rack of lamb-twice cooked. But the protagonist of the course and in fact the evening was the ‘Unico’ from the iconic Bodega Vega Sicilia from Ribera del Duero. A blend of 80-85% of Tempranillo and the balanced Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a unique wine-one of the most iconic and expensive wines of Spain. Retailing for over $ 360-400 this is not even a once-in-a-month affordable wine. Just about ready to drink now, the excellent 1996 vintage has a life of at least 20-40 years, if stored properly, during which period it will continue to evolve and change its already complex personality. Extremely elegant and harmonious wine, this was definitely the most ‘unico’ wine that is a classic match with lamb chops and today it did not disappoint either
Having travelled a lot to Italy and Spain, I can assure you that their multi-course cuisine can be leisurely, requiring the equivalent time of an enjoyable 18-hole round of golf. It was past 11 pm and I had to leave and catch a flight to Spain. But I kept on checking on phone about the dishes that followed and the two sherries that were served and what I had missed. East India Solera and the Pedro-Ximenez (the heavy-duty dessert sherry wine made from the grape of the same name and known as PX in the Jerez parlance were really loved by the guests with sweet tooth- the Catalan Crème and the bitter chocolate Canelon with coffee and cacao. East India had been made initially for the Brits living in India and the brand thrived even after the ,Company. left India in 1947- the wine has a small amount of PX grapes but is not very sweet.
However, I won’t recommend the PX to weight watchers or the diabetic patients, with 300 gms. or more of sugar per liter; perhaps a glass at a dinner at the Lodhi occasionally might be the only time they should consider making an exception.
It was truly a remarkable and Unico wine experience the teh Lodhi Restaurant serving Catalnian cuisine at hotel The Aman, Delhi. A couple of hotels including the Park, Delhi had tried introducing Spanish cuisine a decade ago. Perhaps they were ahead of their time and the ideas did not take off. But times are-a changin’ and hopefully The Aman has timed it right- only the time and the Delhi gourmets and whether they would be willing to shell out the high cost of specialty food here will tell.
Subhash Arora
For more details on Sherries, you are welcome to read the following article I penned 3 years ago in 2006, after visiting the Vinoble Sherry and dessert wine show in Jerez-Subhash Arora
MA SHERRY AMOUR
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