You wouldn't think that in New Hampshire you could have some of the best Spanish food, but it's true. Last year the entire staff went to Spain for 2 weeks and now their menu is inspired by their trip, and so is their wine list.
A few food highlights and then I'll move onto the wine. Amazing variety of pinchos like dark chocolate on toast with sea salt and pistachio oil is a must have (dessert first, yes!) and here are a few other MUST HAVES:
- roasted medjool dates, manchego, serrano ham
- grilled asparagus & ramps, romesco sauce
- day boat scallop, plums, serrano chips, saffron
- ellensburg spring lamb loin with berbere spice, cantaloupe, almond, mint
The food excels, and the wine list is also a lot of fun (would be more fun when my wine is on the list). At any rate, I tried a few tastes of some different vinhos. It was really perfect - just a few swallows. Lots of little things to drink and lots of little things to eat. I love to try and break out of my comfort zone when I'm at a wine bar. Most of the time they will offer tastes of their wines by the glass and that is really a perfect excuse to go wild and order away. Take notes, at least take mental ones.
Here's what I drank:
El Perro, Verdejo, Spain. Verdejo is a lovely crisp and minerally white grape from the Rueda region in Spain. It is super refreshing. This particular one had lovely lemon and apricot on the nose and was very crisp and clean on the palate. I felt like I could drink an entire bottle, easily.
Losada Mencia, Spain - Mencia is one of my favorite grapes. It's a little off the beaten path. It's from the Bierzo region in Spain near Madrid and makes wines that are spicy and rich. This one was full bodied and earthy with aromas of blackberry. It mirrored those same blackberry and brambly tastes on the palate. Yummy yum.
Clos St. Thomas Blanc, Lebanon - I ordered this one because it was from Lebanon and I love Chateau Musar from Lebanon so I had to try. I was pretty disappointed when it came. It was a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and it tasted so overdone. There were super-duper apricot and peach aromas and pear candy - it was like a gross fruit cocktail. The palate was viscous and fruity too. It's like Conundrum, if you've ever had the misfortune to try that. Yuck, stay away!
Here's what I drank:
El Perro, Verdejo, Spain. Verdejo is a lovely crisp and minerally white grape from the Rueda region in Spain. It is super refreshing. This particular one had lovely lemon and apricot on the nose and was very crisp and clean on the palate. I felt like I could drink an entire bottle, easily.Sartori Ferdi Garganega, Italy - Garganega is a grape usually found lurking in your Soave. It is medium bodied and smooth. This one from Sartori Ferdi was pretty full bodied for a white, it had a lot of pear and honey on the nose, followed by honey and lemon on the palate.
Losada Mencia, Spain - Mencia is one of my favorite grapes. It's a little off the beaten path. It's from the Bierzo region in Spain near Madrid and makes wines that are spicy and rich. This one was full bodied and earthy with aromas of blackberry. It mirrored those same blackberry and brambly tastes on the palate. Yummy yum.
Clos St. Thomas Blanc, Lebanon - I ordered this one because it was from Lebanon and I love Chateau Musar from Lebanon so I had to try. I was pretty disappointed when it came. It was a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and it tasted so overdone. There were super-duper apricot and peach aromas and pear candy - it was like a gross fruit cocktail. The palate was viscous and fruity too. It's like Conundrum, if you've ever had the misfortune to try that. Yuck, stay away!
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