Sant Pau....Take 2

Many of my friends and co-workers are actual Wine Geeks. These guys love wine, and work in various aspects of the wine business. Realizing that they will never be able to afford: a house, health insurance, retirement, or marriage under our current administration they have decided to spend all their disposable income on art......the art contained in wine bottles.

These people noticed that I did not include the wines served in my Sant Pau post. In that post I went on a bit about David Escofet, the sommelier....and how perfectly he read our situation, matched the wines to the food....and our politico-socio-economic-culinary milieu. (David was the good cop....Ugly Betty The Waitress was the bad cop, and Ugly Betty was probably actually right about us).

At least one of these Wine Geeks is contemplating selling all his assets and going to Spain to eat and drink for however long the sale of a new truck will get him. I am posting the bill for the lunch for three at Sant Pau just for his sake. I hate to say it, but if I were he.....I would also sell my truck, fly to Spain and eat and drink at Sant Pau. There would be some nickels left over for El Poblet, Akelarre, and a month with Txema....and you can always get another truck.

Some role model, me.....Ars longa, vita brevis.

Here is the list from David Escofet at Sant Pau:

Berta Bouzy Mont-Ferrant (D.O. Cava) I don’t have Flash5 or Shockwave 8, so I can’t give you the tasting notes….but Mont-Ferrant was one of the first Cavas to be established…and this is one of the rarest and most obscure. www.montferrant.com As you all know, I am a champagne whore....and the fact that David served us this wine told me that: 1) he was on our side; 2) he was not mad about George Bush; 3)he witnessed, understood, and supported the scene in the lobby where we kidnapped Conall and made him spend a month's rent on lunch.

Manzanilla Pasada Pastrana-Vinicola Hidalgo (D.O. Jerez) This is a single vineyard sherry which is a relatively new concept in Jerez. It is full and dry with good intensity and a fresh, delicate fragrance coming partly from longer ageing than standard Manzanilla. This wine was also served to us with a similar course at El Poblet by the OTHER of the two contenders for Best Sommelier in Spain. Upon our return, we did a party for Kohler, whose CEO is a Sherry nut. I found the last five bottles of this wine in America in a shop in New York and flew it in for our lunch. Price including next-day air was only forty bucks.....Seriously cheap for an amazing bottle of wine.

Marques de Riscal Sauvignon Blanc ’06 (D.O. Rueda) This was the ironic choice. We were the Ugly Americans...if this was the only dinger, we earned it.

Otazu Chardonnay 2006 Palacio de Otazu (D.O. Navarra) Señorio de Otazu…..100% chard, French Oak, from the Pamplona Valley….Amanda hates California chardonnay and LOVED this wine. Way old school, gorgeous vineyards and caves.

INO Garnatxa Rosada (D.O. Emporda-Costa Brava) Delicious rosé from the neighborhood. Garnatxa means grenache. I brought a bottle home....the only bottle I carried. Sometimes the local stuff, paired with the local food....knocks it out of the park.

Nun Vinya Dels Taus 2005 (D.O. Penedes) Organic/Biodynamic...100 year old vines...nose of rich lemon custard - beautiful...medium-full in body, chock full of lemons and honey, high acid, white pepper, full throttle...20+ seconds on the finish. Delish.

Atteca 2006 Old Vineyards (D.O. Catalunya) Meticulously hand harvested clusters of fully matured Garnacha grapes were selected from only the finest hillside vineyards planted over 3,000 feet above sea level. These vineyards were planted in the last decades of the nineteenth and the first decade of the twentieth centuries. Over a hundred years ago the local growers knew that the combination of poor gravelly slate soils, high altitudes, and arid conditions produced the best grapes. The wine, Atteca, produced today upholds these long held beliefs. Deep rich blackberry flavors persist on a long supple finish and are highlighted by the vibrant shimmering claret color."

The Atteca is made from 100% Old Vines Granacha Old Vines, 80-120 years, and is 14.5% alcohol. It has a dark red/purple coloring and a fruity nose. On the front palate, there is a rush of berry fruits, including raspberry and some blueberry. This led to a long finish with some spicy notes. It is a full bodied wine that fills your mouth with vibrant flavors. Its tannins are relatively mellow.

Cream Gutierrez Colosia (D.O. Jerez) An Oloroso sweetened with rich Pedro Ximenez. Its colour is dark. Its aroma is round, crisp and velvety, being full bodied on the palate with an aging at least five years.

Jorge Ordoñez 2006 Selecion Especial Moscatel (D.O. Malaga) 90 pts, The 2005 Seleccion Especial is a lovely elixir with floral and tropical aromatics and flavors of peach, apricot, mango, and kiwi. The fermentation is stopped when the wine achieves 12% alcohol leaving 120g/l of residual sugar. On the palate it has a supple, viscous texture and good length ; Seleccion Especial are from vineyards over 50-years-old, harvested from hilltop locations approximately 1,800 feet above sea level. The 100% Moscatel de Alejandria grapes are hand harvested then go through a 'Draconian' selection process. The grapes are then dried under the roof of a building at the bodega where the doors are open during the day and closed at night, creating a very slow and even drying process.' - Robert Parker

Pedro Ximenez Sacromonte Iñaños (D.O. Jerez) Beautiful deep amber. Wonderfully subtle and refined with a most beautiful cedary nose. Stylish yet delicate. One of the finest examples of olorso on the market today.

And the bill:

Like I said: Ars longa, vita brevis.....