Torres Wines and very good modern Spanish dishes at La Fonda del Sol NYC
November 6, 2010
As someone who is always on the lookout for good and authentic Spanish dishes, which imho is sorely lacking in the city nowadays, I was sent a short-notice email by La Fonda del Sol, a modern Spanish restaurant and tapas bar, about their chef and the visiting winemaker from Torres in Catalunya collaborating on a very casual wine-dinner. Home-prepared dinner was not in plans for that Saturday, so it was an easy call to secure reservations at this restaurant that is only a short 10-minute walk from home.
It was a pleasure to have Juan Pujol, the winemaker at Torres, and their local wine representative/importer, seating with us at our table as they were very accommodating, cordial, very fun and casual in engaging with our mostly foodie-but-not-wine-geeky table. I was also reminded by the fact that I had met up with Juan about 10 years ago when we visited their Penedes operation, a wine empire by Spanish standards, about a 35-minute drive south of Barcelona. I was also reminded, that since admittedly I'm not a frequent buyer of their wines, that they do have higher-end stuff that are priced well and can be worth seeking out.
The menu, in order of course served, and wines are as follows:
Salad of bacalao, smoked potato and tomato preserve
Gran Vina Sol (Chardonnay), Penedes, 2009
A blend of 85% Chardonnay and 15% Parellada. Even as only half of the chardonnay was barrel-fermented in French barrels, this came across as very oaky. Ripe lemon, buttery, oily and quite fat. B
The bacalao dish, an ever-present dish in most of coastal-based regions in Northern Spain and which I’m not prone to ordering except when in Spain, was simply prepared and well-executed. I can eat this as my main/entrée if offered.
Cochinillo, black mission figs, marcona almonds
Ibericos, Rioja, 2007
The cochinillo is a suckling pig, in this case asado-style or roasted. Just as in the case of the bacalao, the chef seems to thrive well in simple execution without overdoing the preparation. The crispy pig portion was the highlight, but the sides, especially the slices of freshly-grilled ripe figs took, the dish a notch higher.
Ibericos is the latest venture by this wine empire established about 3 years ago. According to Juan Pujol, the winery is as rustic and traditional as you can get nowadays in Rioja amidst the James Bondish ones at Cune Vina Real, Dinastia Vivanco and Geary-built winery-hotel whose name ecapes me at the present. Made of 100% tempranillo, deep cherry in color, the oak was quite prominent. High in acidity, juicy, but still tannic. A little short on the finish, but nonetheless matched well with the dish. B
Beef shank and bone marrow, porcini
Mas La Plana Cabernet, 2005 (magnum) and Salmos Priorato 2007
Two wines were served with this course.
Mas La Plana is a single-vineyard all-Cabernet Sauvignon from the Penedes. Black and inky. Young and woody nose, with somewhat Pauillac quality of pencil and gravel. Tannic and young, but this one walloped with its big blue fruit and toasted oak. This one missed the mark insofar as matching with the dish is concerned. B
The Salmos is mainly granache-based from Priorat. My favorite wine of the night. I smelled fresh meat and milk. High in acidity, again notes of oak that’s not as intrusive as the other wines. Smooth, fruity and yet remained very food-friendly, with good overall balance. B+
Regarding the dish, I liked the marrow part, that was in a 3-inch calf-bone, especially when scooped up with the available mini-baguette.
Torta de Santiago
Vina Esmeralda (Moscato-Gewurtraminer), Penedes, 2009
The Torta is a simple gateau-like dessert slightly dusted with some confection sugar and paired with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. Dense, but not overly sweet, and very satisfying.
Vina Esmeralda is a pale yellow-gold wine that is more of an off-dry wine rather than a sweet sticky as I would have expected for this course. Very aromatic and refreshing with its honeydew, citrus and flowers notes. I liked this wine and this one hit a homerun with the dessert. B+
At the end of the very, very well-valued cost of $75 pp all-inclusive meal, Juan had a bag of take-home goodies for all attendees, including a nice Torres golf t-shirt, key chain with that small plastic black bull that dangles on their popular Sangre-de-Toro bottles, and other things.