Big Spanish wines that go with lighter foods
I like climate-based cooking. Lighter dishes and salads in the spring, cold soups and garden-laced goodness in the summer, grilling in the autumn, soups and stews in the winter—you get the idea.
That said, the wacky weather we’ve had has occasionally left me flatfooted. I find it hard to plan a menu when the temperature’s swinging 40 degrees from day to day.
But unpredictability requires flexibility, which means I have a perfect excuse to open some Spanish reds. I’ve always thought they were great food wines—big enough to handle chops and steaks, but subtle enough to go with chicken and vegetarian dishes.
Unfortunately, some Spanish winemakers—especially in Rioja, the best known of the country’s winemaking regions—have gone the route of California Zinfandels in the ’90s and early oughts. Namely, they’re turning out high-oak wines with in-your-face extracted flavors and monstrously high levels of alcohol. There’s nothing wrong with wines like that if you’re grilling ribs, but they’re not really for sipping or pairing with lighter foods.
Luckily for us, there are plenty of Spanish reds out there that aren’t fruit bombs. For instance, let’s look at the wines from Jumilla (pronounced who-MEE-yuh), a mountainous region in the southeast corner of Spain.
Jumilla reds are largely made from the Monastrell grape, which is better known as Mourvedre, a grape widely grown in France’s Rhone Valley. Left to its own devices, Monastrell produces powerfully fruity, tannic and peppery wines reminiscent of Zinfandel—especially since the alcohol content is usually north of 15 percent.
Where Jumilla wines differ from the cinder-block-like subtlety of Zinfandel is in how well they pair with food. Wines this strong aren’t normally considered flexible food wines, but a skilled winemaker can cool some of the harsh, hot edge Monastrell can bring to the table.
The basic Naked Vine pairing rule—that people make wine to go with food they regularly eat—certainly holds in Jumilla. It’s located a region known for growing fruits and vegetables. In addition, pork and chicken are common meats, and the proximity to the Mediterranean allows for a fair amount of fish. Paellas and stews are common, as are salads and a number of gouda-ish cheeses.
With a potential tapas menu that broad, a one-note wine wouldn’t work well.
Speaking of paella, I cobbled one together recently and served it with a bottle of Bodegas Juan Gil 2008 Jumilla ($15). The first taste held a lot of oak and tannins that immediately parched the back of my throat, but that sharpness faded quickly, leaving a punch-packing but nicely balanced mix of blackberry, chocolate and pepper. I was afraid such a big wine would demolish the subtle flavors in the paella, but I needn’t have worried. As muscular as the wine was, it was about as lovely a pairing as I could have imagined for a cool evening.
The next night, we cracked a couple of other Jumilla bottles:
Bodegas Juan Gil “Wrongo Dongo” 2010 Jumilla ($9): At first sniff, I would have mistaken this for a Cabernet. The wine held a pronounced note of vanilla on the nose along with some leather and mild fruit. My first sips were intensely tannic, but like its slightly more expensive cousin, it eased back a bit into cherries and leather. The finish was more tannic than the other Juan Gil’s.
Bodegas Luzon 2008 Altos de la Luzon Jumilla ($14): Although this wine started with a Wrongo Dongo-esque vanilla blast, it was much more subtle, all in all. The vanilla was underlain with floral scents (lavender?) and blackberry. The tannins were much tamer—so much tamer, in fact, that the fruit ended up overwhelming the tannin a bit initially. Like the others, though, it balanced out after a bit of air.
As for which is the better wine, it depends on your taste. If you like drier, stronger wines, the Wrongo Dongo is for you. If you want more fruit, go with the Luzon.
That night, we made a veal, mushroom and artichoke stew. The Altos was the better choice here, as its subtlety meshed with the flavors more easily. The Wrongo Dongo was overly assertive and masked the delicacy of the stew’s flavors.
The following night, we had the remainder of these two wines with chicken breasts braised in a dried-fruit and olive sauce, along with saffron rice. The Altos, after a day open, had lost much of its complexity and was nondescript with the food, while the Wrongo Dongo held onto much of its character and was much tastier with the assembled plate.
Summing up, Jumilla wines are for people who like big reds but have a varied food palate. If you fit this description, they’re definitely worth a try.
Bill & Sheila’s Wine
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