Marques de Caceres
wine dinner
Marques de Caceres, another of the top Spanish wineries
based in Rioja, working together with the Wine Warehouse, recently chose La
Closerie d’Elisa to organise and deliver a fantastic wine dinner, pairing some
of the traditional Spanish dishes to a selection of its premium wines.
The family behind Marques de Caceres has a long tradition in
wine making. They started long ago making wine in Sagunto (Spain), mostly table
wine, but after the war they moved to France where they bought two Chateaus, and
they continued the family tradition of making wine.
With the political situation changing at the time, they
decided to return to their homeland and they created Marques de Caceres in 1970,
making a totally different wine.
Hosted in the iconic Rioja, known for the best
quality wines in Spain, they used traditional vines and grapes, but they
started making wine following French style, a total revolution in Spain at that
time, creating new wines with les wood and making them affordable. The first
vintage was very successful and made the foundations to today’s great
reputation that the winery and the brand have.
Marques de Caceres is the Spanish leader in exporting
quality wines, present in more than 120 countries, including Vietnam (you can
find the wines at the Wine Warehouse), they excel in making quality wines while
affordable, wines designed to be drunk with food or on their own.
Their wine selection covers a mix of red, white and rose,
and although it is not extensive, what they make they make it well. So well in
fact, that they have been approached and asked to make limited edition wines by
reputable companies like fashion icon Paco Rabanne.
The bottles of Marques de Caceres usually have a classic
label, however the wines are far from classic: rather than focusing on oak,
Marques de Caceres makes wines with a lot of fruit and easy to drink.
The wine dinner started with gazpacho (Spanish cold soup),
paired with a glass of Marques de Caceres white from Rioja; a wine with a
floral nose bringing lots of citrus fruits to the palate, fresh and nice.
We also had the chance to try the Marques de Caceres Rose,
ideal wine to enjoy with current hot temperatures, as it brings both freshness
and complexity: white flowers, berries and anise on the nose, lots of red
fruits and berries on the palate. This wine was paired with Spanish chorizo omelette
and octopus.
The main course was a mixed paella (rice with seafood,
vegetables and chicken), paired with the best seller from the winery, Marques
de Caceres Crianza, another beauty from Rioja, full of red fruits both on the
nose and palate, elegant and well structured.
With the dessert, the Spanish version of crème brulee, we
had the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Satinela, a semi sweet wine, fresh
and crispy, and one of my favourites to drink with dessert or as an aperitif.
We finished the dinner with a very special wine, MC, a wine
made with 100% tempranillo grapes. A delicate wine offering a mix of red and
black fruits, velvety and with a very long finish.
Mr Xavier Vicente, the winery’s brand ambassador, joined us at
the dinner and we had the opportunity to learn more about this family run
winery, a great unique event, which attracted almost 50 wine lovers.
Offering top quality while affordable wines, Spanish wines,
and Rioja and Ribera de Duero in particular, are starting to become very
popular about Vietnamese who like good quality but are money conscious.
