Here are five stunning Spanish wines to complement this week’s recipes. Viva España!
NV Solear Manzanilla, Barbadillo, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain (£5.09, half bottle, Waitrose, tesco.com). This dinky little half bottle contains one of the most vital, life-enhancing elixirs on the planet – Manzanilla Sherry! Keep it in the fridge and then pour small glasses as a palate-enlivening aperitif or to drink with all styles of tapas. Bone dry, bright and citrusy, this is one of life’s undiscovered joys.
NV Pasada Pastrana Manzanilla, Bodegas Hidalgo, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain (£11.99, reduced to £10.99, until 3 September, Majestic; £11.99, Waitrose). This single vineyard Manzanilla takes this heavenly style of Sherry to its apogee. One of the greatest dry wines in the world, Pasada Pastrana is a perfect wine and one that has catapulted Hidalgo into vinous royalty.
2011 Vega de la Reina, Verdejo, Hacienda Zorita, Rueda, Spain (£7.99, Majestic, www.bacchanaliatws.co.uk, Planet of the Grapes tel. 020 7405 4912). Winner of ‘best white wine in the world’ at the recent Concours Mondial of Brussels, this scintillating, lime and pineapple husk-scented verdejo is a tremendous bargain and a perfect zesty white for all manner of tapas and seafood dishes.
2011 Paul de Albas, Ribera del Duero, Spain (£8.48, Asda). This brand new, medium-weight, mildly-oaked red is a packed with punchy, summer berry fruit and it has a suave air about it in spite of the fact that it is so youthful and lively. Get in quick – this is a total and absolute joy.
2009 Taste the Difference Priorat, Spain (£10.49, Sainsbury’s). Made from 40% syrah, 40% grenache and 20% carignan, a recipe you might expect to find in a Côtes-du-Rhône rather than a historic Spanish red, this massive, inky brute is a triumphant sour cherry and blackberry-drenched hero. Big and rich, for meaty dishes only!
