I'm starting to once again become fascinated by the great wines of Spain. Tonight, the night before the last day of 2014, it's a bottle of Viña Pedrosa 1994 Ribera del Duero Crianza - a wine I used to import many years ago and that has been waiting in my cellar for just the right time to appear on my table. That time has come, with sautéed duck breast in red wine sauce, kale sautéed with eggplant, and buttercup squash so sweet it could almost be for dessert. The wine is beautifully transparent in color, still youthful. The nose is violets and red meat with the amazing deep blackberry-currant note still intact, plenty of garrigue too - lavender, a hint of thyme. The palate is all roast red meat and chalky minerality, then comes stewed blackberries, and a thirst quenching, delicious finish. An amazing pairing with the wild duck breast in red wine sauce.
This is an homage to a great wine, not a sales pitch. We no longer sell this wine, and likely never will again. However, one of my new years resolutions for 2015 is to dig back into Spain, looking for wines of terroir and individuality, crafted from fine raw materials, with an eye towards tradition. Wines like this one from Viña Pedrosa / Hermanos Perez Pascuas.
