Europe 2013 -Visit in Rioja/Spain

Leaving Penafiel in Ribera del Duero (still without luggage) we headed north towards Rioja. Kristell Monot was kind enough to handle all communications with the airlines and we decided to have our luggage sent ahead to our hotel in Rioja. We chose the beautiful drive through the countryside, avoiding the major highway. After  Burgos we headed up through the mountains, then dropped down into the beautiful valley that makes up the Rioja Wine Region of Spain.






We were booked into Hosperedia Senorio de Brinas (read my review of the Hotel here) and arrived there late afternoon  - our luggage was waiting for us and we were delighted to see it! The hotel, remodeled by the owners who are Interior Architects was stunning. It is about a 20 minute walk along the river to the city of Haro, which had wonderful small tapas wine bars all along their Plaza Casa Mayor . We enjoyed local tapas (Jamon Iberia (cured ham) and fresh marinated anchovies. Afterwards we visited the famous





C.V.N.E. Winery in Haro.....they had the most delicious Spanish Rioja wines, Crianza's, Gran Reservas - I really liked their Villa Real which was a full bodied, red  fruit bearing Rioja that was just too easy to drink - we picked up a few of their Crianza's for the road trip ahead of us. If you are ever in the area, make sure to spend some time in their tasting room and pick up a few bottles.




Leaving Haro we headed east towards Laguardia where we had reservations at the Hotel of Eguren Ugarte (see review here). I have been working with Ugarte/Eguren wines  for over 4 years in Indiana. I was finally at their winery in Rioja. Above the winery is a spectacular hotel perched on top of a hill overlooking the Rioja Valley - a stunning view. Underneath the hotel is the winery - actually when your leave your room and walk into the hallway you look directly through a huge glass wall. into the barrel room
We were given a private tour through their cellars which the founder - Vittorio and five of his friends spent five years digging out of the rock under the hill. In the 'caves' there are 'niches' where customers store wines they purchase from the winery. Every so often we would come across a "party room" inside that huge cellar that customers can use to celebrate and share their wines with friends and family. We tasted the new KAME wines soon to be in the USA and hopefully soon in Indiana for all of us to enjoy.

Most beautiful old cellar I ever saw

Patty and I decided to have dinner at their Gourmet Restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. It was a 5 course dinner that included wine (I did not have to worry about driving). During dinner we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Koldo Eguren-Cendoya, the current owner of Eguren-Ugare and he invited us to a Flamenco Show downstairs in the cellars after dinner.  During the show Koldo treated us with Martin Condoya Reserva (Tempranillo) and with the outstanding Anastasia. It was summer solstice and the super moon shone over the winery - a great experience.

Barrel Room with Muriel

Private Barrels

View from our room

      

Suckling pig

View from our room

Old Vines

Me & Mr. Koldo Eguren-Cendoya, Owner of Ugarte-Eguren

Earlier in the day we visited two architecturally renown  winery's Ysios Winery - an architectural jewel in the country side of Rioja, and  Marquesas de Riscal. The Marquesas de Riscal hotel was designed by Frank Gehrig (after they bribed him with 3 bottles of 1927 Gran Riserva - his birth year). However, as amazing the hotel building is...the winery is even more. You must book a tour in advance to see the production facilities and cellars. This was something I have never seen before. All 64 stainless steel fermenting tanks were controlled by one (!) computer console, the cellars were full of barrels and full of bottles, waiting to be released. We had tapas in their tasting room and drank their 2003 Grand Reserva before leaving...the 2003 is now only available at the winery.We did some serious wine shopping again for the road - one never knows if the car breaks down.

Ysios Winery

Maques de Riscal

Marques di Riscal Winery was amazing

Rioja was simply overwhelming and Patty and I will be returning there at least one more time. Heading north we  drove up through the Basque Mountains into San Sebastian on the Atlantic Coast.
We spend a night at Hotel Maria Christina - I swear by God - that this was the largest bed I have ever seen in a hotel. We enjoyed the Old Town of San Sebastion, walked the length  of the beach -- don't believe the concierge at the hotel, it is nearly an hour each way, not 20 minutes, and well worth the funicular ride up the mountain for a fabulous view of the city. You must visit the Basque Tapas bars in Old Town where tapas are called "pintxos". This is one of the most exiting cities in Europe right now. Two of the top ten restaurants in the world are located in San Sebastian. WE WILL be back!

Pintxos

Pintxos

Tapas Bar

Overlooking Bay of San Sebastian

Our room at Hotel Maria Christina

The Bay

Walking on the Beach

San Sebastian Bay (Beach)

Hotel Maria Christina

Europe 2013 - Visit to the Ribera del Duero Region of Spain

 On June 18th  my wife Patty and I arrived in Madrid --without our luggage-- and decided to not let it interfere with our trip so we headed  north towards wine country. We spent the night in the town of Segovia. The view from our hotel room was the old Roman Aqueduct which was built starting in the 1st century AD. The evening was a bit cool - however from then on the weather during our trip in Europe was simply fantastic. If you ever are in Segovia you have to visit the beautiful Cathedral and also the Alcazar Castle on the edge of Old Town. Walk  into Old Town to the Casa Mayor (Central Place) you will find vendors selling everything from olives, vegetables to clothes - which we bought since our luggage was still missing.

Aqueduct on right, Hotel below

Veggies at market

Olives at market

Stroll in Old town

Alcazar in Segovia

After Segovia we headed north to the small town of Valbuena near the Duero river. We were invited by Grupo Mattaromera -headed by its President Mr. Carlos Moro - a true visionary who manages 6 wineries and has products from Non-Alcoholic wines, a fine selection of high end wines including Solano and Rento. One of the unique elements of this winery is the commitment to use all the products of the soil exemplified by a  their high end line of cosmetics made from the the residuals high in anti-oxidants otherwise not used in making wines

This was my second visit and I was familiar with the company's headquarters located at Emina Winery (we could actually see the building of the famous Vega Sicilia winery from there). This winery was built with the environment in mind. They are SIP certified and are the first winery in Europe with an Carbon Footprint seal on their European wine labels. Solar panels above carport provides shade, water is recycled in their own plant which is built in the Roman style with a center court yard, and the RD department is funded with $3-4 million. per year.

In front the the building Mr. Moro planted the vineyard of Spain that contains a row of EVERY grape variety planted in Spain. During a quick lunch at their  restaurant we had to pleasure to meet Mr. Carlos Moro himself - he even remembered me from my visit 2 yeas ago.




Our Hostess at Mattaromera was Ms. Kristell Monot, Export Manager for the group - very knowledgeable and informed. Lucky enough there was a visit earlier this morning and we were able to taste an range of their high-end wines during lunch (typical Spanish Country Cuisine: Lamb). My favorite wine was the Matarromera Prestigio Pago de las Solana 2001 (a Gran Reserva)...big lush, full of dark berries and sweet tannins - simply superb! I preferred it over the Matarromera Anniversary edition of which only 2400 bottles

King's Wines

were produced. After Lunch Kristell took us down the road  to the building of the Matarromera Winery, up a hill overlooking the Duero Valley. After visiting the bottling plant we went downstairs into the cellar. Kristell producd a set of keys, opened a huge iron gate and invited us into the cellar where wines were stored for Juan Carlos I the King of Spain,  All of the wines produced for him carry his own label.

Labels for a China shipment

Ms. Kristell Monot

Barrel tasting

After our visit to Matteromera we drove a few miles to RENTO, a single vineyard produced wine. The winery is located in a beautiful 16th century monastery which was remodeled and now also contains beside the production facility a beautiful old barrel room and a large dining room where dinners on occasion will be served when the group or Carlos Moro entertains guests from all over the world. Rento Wine 2005 was honored with 94 points by Mr. Parker and we had the opportunity to taste some of it straight out of the barrel.

Old RENTO cellar

Dining Room for Festivities

Tasting RENTO with Kristell Monot in the Barrel Room

The visits to these wineries of Groupo Matarromera were an experience that is hard to forget. Pretty tired  and still in our clothes from our flight, we went to their Guesthouse, then took a relaxing stroll along the banks of the Duero River. If you are ever in this area and you want to enjoy a quite, relaxing visit and learn about wine then this is the place in the Ribera del Duero area. It is is a 25 minute ride into Valladolid, the Capital of Northern Castilla Leon, famous for it's baby lamb cooked in hot clay ovens in the middle of old restaurants.

Ribera Duero River in the evening