Wednesday, June 13, 2018

MENU's Iberian Exploit 10. Córdoba

The next city on this adventure was Córdoba and our apartment was unusual but lovely. The streets in this old area of Córdoba are narrow, cobbled and ancient. They have very confusing one way systems which are almost impenetrable to those who are not familiar with the area but using our phone we managed to find the place, guided by the voice of our landlady, Arantxa
Calle Moriscos, Córdoba on a rainy evening. Our address for two comfortable & hospitable nights. Thank you Arantxa and Berni
They took us up to our room in the sky and settled us in
It was a small bachelor apartment on the roof of their house, next to the ancient church, Real Iglesia de Santa Marina de Aguas Santas and with lovely city views. Small but, as estate agents say, perfectly appointed with a bathroom and minimal kitchen; it was warm and comfortable
The church bells were only rung during the day and didn't start too early either 
A view over the rooftops from our terrace where we could sit and enjoy our breakfast, 
weather permitting
and a sundowner in the evening
The house frontage, on the right. There is no parking allowed in this area 
but they had an underground garage just around the corner,
where we left our car for the entire time we were in Córdoba
The next day dawned fine and sunny and we went exploring. They had the festival of dressing the crosses that weekend, so the city was full of flowers. This is the entrance to the Palacio de Viana, a Renaissance building. It was formerly known as the Palace of the Bars of Don Gome, in reference to one of its first owners and is an example of ancestral homes of the Cordovan nobility. Although there is documentary evidence of the existence of buildings in the fourteenth century, the history of the palace begins with Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, Lord of Fuencubierta, Mayor of Antequera in the 15th Century
The first courtyard of the palace
Such enviable window boxes, they seem to be such good growers of Geraniums and pelargoniums, 
and, on the way, we caught this glimpse of a skilled guitar maker in his workshop
We were heading for this food market to which we had been directed by our landlords
As usual, a wonderful selection of fresh food to buy. The fish aisle in the market 

with wonderfully fresh fish
Sardines, anchovies and is that fierce looking fish pike or snoek?
Monkfish and sole
Clams, prawns, squid and cuttlefish
Buy your lunch or supper ingredients in the market and the lady at this stall will cook them for you for a small fee, which we did
Superb pork products from Moisés Martín ...
... who have two successful shops. What wouldn't we give to have access to those Iberian hams. €40 - 50 for a whole ham
Oh those vegetables!
As the sign on the left says, buy your fish or meat and they will cook it for you
Their Specials board. We thought that the Botellín with a beer was an incredibly good offer
Well, the beer was not bad, if a bit small. But that roll with a slice of shoe leather was indescribable. You do get what you pay for. The fan in the background was a necessary purchase that day as, for a change, it was really hot
Our lunchtime seat in the square
School kids having a lesson on the street - not sure what the subject was. 
This was near the Alcazar palace
A collection of some interesting periods of architecture
Not many queues at the Alcazar Palace; it was midday, when most people would be eating a late lunch. In Spain, they seem to start at about 2 and finish at 4. This building was the royal residence of the Christian monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella for 8 years. He issued the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews, also called the Alhambra Decree and he was the main architect of the Spanish Inquisition. He and Isabella sponsored the first voyage of Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), in 1492. That year was also the year of the final victory in the war with Granada which defeated the last Muslim state in Iberia. Subsequently, it was the site of the Courts of the Holy Offices, a civil prison, and finally a military prison. It is set among magnificent gardens, including the garden known as the Avenue of the Monarchs which features statues of all the monarchs who had connections with the palace-fortress. So this is a very historic place
One of the central courtyards filled with fragrant orange trees in blossom
An archer's window
A view of the city and the Roman bridge over the river
A view from the battlements of the gardens in the Alcazar, with cooling pools
This one was filled with huge carp
The Roman bridge and the view across the river
The narrow spiral staircase in the 13th century Tower of the Lions which is the entry to the battlements in the Alcazar. Must have been a challenge if one wore a suit of armour
On top of the Torre de los Leones (Tower of the Lions). Weathered, but still robust after 800 years
Tropical palms
The architecture of different religions, Christian and Muslim and some foreign influences,
Roman, North African, Byzantine, even Crusader
From the Romans, wonderful mosaic pavements that have been preserved in the museum
This is a pattern you see repeated in many places, in pavements and in tiles
Third Century, AD 
Many of the Moorish influences in the Córdoba Alcazar have been replaced by later Christian
or even older Roman 
How is your Spanish? The mosaics above are 2nd Century Roman AD
Antique furniture in a court room
and a carved Roman Sarcophagus
People resting from the heat in the cool shade of the orange and lemon trees
An archers' tower
Reflecting pools in the Courtyard of the Moriscos, while people explore the battlements above
Arches and doorways. It was lovely and cool inside the buildings
Echoing arches over an old Roman wall, where the Caliphs used to walk
at the edge of the Courtyard of the Moriscos. Purity of design
A rather graphic monument to two queens. Beatriz de Bobadilla y Ulloa, nicknamed the Huntress, (Medina del Campo, 1462 - November 1504) was a Castilian lady, mistress of the Canary Islands of La Gomera and El Hierro. She was the daughter of Juan de Bobadilla, alderman of Medina del Campo, corregidor of Madrid and alcaide of his alcazars, and Leonor Álvarez de Vadillo, lady in waiting to Queen Leonor de Aragón. She was the granddaughter of Cristóbal de Bobadilla and Juana de Ulloa, and the second niece of Beatriz de Bobadilla, Marquise de Moya, supporter and friend of Isabel I of Castile
A cell in the dungeon
Cool, if rather green, pools filled with carp
The Avenue of the Monarchs which features statues of all the monarchs who had connections with the palace-fortress, between the cypress columns
A street in Córdoba, near the Spanish Riding School. In these old cities, the streets were built hundreds of years before the invention of the motor car when human feet and horses 
were the prime movers. They give priority to pedestrians; most are one way. 
You sometimes drive 2 Km to move the car 500 metres

The entrance to the Andalusian Riding School

Inside the Royal Stables of the Andalusian Riding School, adjacent to the Alcazar; Caballerizas Reales de Córdoba. It was founded by King Philip II in 1567, predating the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. The Andalusian horses are the ancestors of the Lippizaners in Vienna
A derelict mill on the bank of the Guadalquivir
The Roman Bridge of Córdoba was originally built by the Romans in the early 1st century BC 
across the Guadalquivir river, though it has been reconstructed at various times since. 
Most of the present structure dates from the Moorish reconstruction in the 8th century. 
Still carrying traffic after 1300 years
Built to last, a robust construction

The Arco del Triunfo at the The Puerta del Puente (Spanish: "Gate of the Bridge"). Construction started in 1572, but it appears that the money ran out and it was not finished until the early 20th Century.  In 1912, under the reign of Alfonso XIII, the area in which the Puerta del Puente is located was stripped of its walls and it was rebuilt in 1928 as a memorial gate, so it's actually not as old as it looks
A rather lopsided arched gateway
After a long, hot day of walking in Córdoba, this was the perfect refreshment. Actually we were gasping.
A quiet square near our lodging
The front of the Real Iglesia de Santa Marina de Aguas Santas
and its interior
An evening walk in old Córdoba to
La Taberna la Sacristia
The menu
 A salad with Morcilla Frita or fried black pudding. Morcilla - black pudding - is the first sausage made from the blood of the freshly killed pig. It is very popular throughout Spain
Iberian ham and quail salad. Local food, well-prepared
Our bill
RETURN TO MENU
Posted by MENU at 1:00 pm 0 comments

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Wine Concepts 8th Chardonnay & Pinot Noir Celebration

Last Friday evening saw us at Wine Concepts' annual celebration of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, held at the Vineyard Hotel. We decided that it was time to emulate the Burgundians and begin with Pinots Noir and then go on to taste the Chardonnays. They say Chardonnay muddies ones palate for Pinots. It was a good exercise for us, as we normally don't have time to taste many Pinots after so many Chardonnays. And there were a lot of wines to taste in the three hours we were there; we could only do a selection

Our favourite wine of those we tasted that evening was the Pinot Noir from Boschendal with elegant, perfumed, sweet fruit in layers of complexity, soft chalky tannins, long flavours and fruit acids that will last, making this the wine to put down and to drink now. Also impressive were the Glen Carlou 2015 Pinot Noir, the Paul Cluver Estate Pinot Noir (of course!) and the Galpin Peak Pinot Noir; such elegance. Our best Chardonnay was the biz! The Eleanor 2015 from Hartenberg. We were distressed to see so many over-wooded Chardonnays though, mostly from younger producers; we do hope this is not a trend. We do not want to repeat history

 Marcha Cooke of Jordan with Arco Laarman. Marcha showed the Jordan wooded Chardonnay and their flagship Nine Yards, both superb and experience has showed that the wooded and unwooded Chardonnays can rival the classic Nine Yards for longevity. They are all delicious now. Arco, enjoying his independence after many years at Glen Carlou, showed his Cluster and Focal Point Chardonnays. Both from cool southern regions, Vermaaklikheid and Elgin, they are both excellent but different expressions of the grape
Spioenkop Pinot Noir is made by ex master Sommelier turned quirky winemaker Koen Roose-Vandenbroucke, who came from Belgium more than a decade ago, at his unirrigated vineyards in Elgin
Radford Dale's Freedom Pinot Noir from Stellenbosch, a serious wine with dark berry flavours, made for maturity
We loved the name The Smugglers Boot which ace winemaker Richard Kershaw has given to his entry level Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Pinot is spicy, rich and lean on the end,
the Chardonnay has delicious freshness
Sarah Revell of Vinimark enjoying a night off
 Jessica Saurwein showed her 2016 Nom Pinot Noir. Feminine delicacy and drinking easily now, but should have the legs to mature and improve for a few years. Saurwein in name, but not in the glass
This wine has quite a success story attached to it. Berene Sauls who shows a lot of determination and strength started working on the Hamilton Russell estate, doing child care for the family; she progressed through various jobs and has been mentored by Anthony and allowed to become involved on the wine making side. She now has her own wine which is rather good. She is looking to buy land in Tesselaarsdal to grow her own grapes in the future. She needs help with finding the right terroir there if there are any volunteers out there...
 Berene Sauls of Tesselaarsdal
 Jenna Bruwer of Springfield
who had two chardonnays and one Pinot Noir on show, all classics. her father Abri was reluctant to release his Pinot for several years until he was happy with the quality. He needn't have worried, it's a cracker. The unwooded Wild Yeast Chardonnay has a lovely, delicate, creamy texture from its time on the lees. The Méthode Ancienne Chardonnay is only made in the years Abri deems to be good enough. Rich lime fruit with creamy texture and good support from 1/3rd new barrels 
 The Fledge: Leon Coetzee and his Mum. The Katvis is fragrant with berries (NOT fish) and has good fruit on the palate
 Seven Springs winemaker Riana van der Merwe shows her wines from the top of the Hemel en Aarde Valley. Rich but fresh fruit in the Pinot from older barrels. Chardonnay also from older barrels, so the fruit and nutty minerality are not dominated by the wood
Storm Pinot Noir from the Hemel and Aarde Valley was vibrant and delicious
Another cracker from the Hemel and Aarde Valley, Kevin Grant's 2016 Ataraxia. The fruit and wood combine so well, they mix and marry on your palate. It is just gorgeous
It was a busy and successful tasting with lots of people enjoying the evening and the tasting
 John Collins with Catea Sinclair of Newton Johnson Wines
 Jenna Bruwer and Molly McWilliam-Smith
 Angela Estate Pinot Noir, made on Graham Beck's son Anthony's farm in Oregon. A fine expression of North American pinot
Lothian have made an interesting Cremant-like rosé MCC bubble, so reminiscent of those from France, full of caramel and red berries. Made by Richard Kershaw and Dudley Wilson. Richard also made the Pinot Noir which has notes of perfumed fruit and licorice 
Two Pinots Noir made by Nico Grobler (Eikendal's winemaker) from Elgin fruit. The Valley is light and easy drinking with lovely fresh fruit. La Brune is more serious, a classic Pinot made to mature, although it is drinking well now
La Bri's fine Chardonnay from Franschhoek
 Terence van der Walt of Siris Vintners and his daughter Aidin showed the Quando Pinot Noir from Robertson, easy drinking with clean fresh fruit
Posted by MENU at 3:54 pm 0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)