Pages

Friday, March 26, 2021

Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial is indeed a Special Selection #WorldWineTravel

This lovely bottle of Spanish wine from the Castille and Leon area is a blend of Temperanillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.  It is a deep and complex.  It would stand up very nicely to a big hunk of grilled steak but I chose to pair it with Balsamic Braised Chicken.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial

Welcome to World Wine Travel.  Today we are visiting Castilla y Leon.......
map

This is a map of the wine regions in Castilla y Leon as found on Spanish-Wines.org.  Castile and Leon is an autonomous community located in Northwestern Spain. It is a high plateau that is ringed with mountains and it borders Portugal.

Castile and Leon is one of the most important wine regions of Spain.  It has several popular DOs (denominations of origin) including Toro, Bierzo, Ruedo and Ribera del Duero.  The Castile and Leon Vino de la Tierra title covers the entire wine region and has much less restrictions than other areas.  (Source:winetourism.com).

I knew absolutely nothing about this area when Allison of AdVineTuresinvited us to join her in this month's event.  You can learn more about this area and our group at Allison's post

I am very anxious to read what the others know and will share both in their posts and on twitter chat on Saturday at 11 AM ET.  You will find us by following #WorldWineTravel.  These are some of the topics we will be discussing........

Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial and Chicken Braised in Balsamic Vinegar

Having no previous knowledge of this area and it's wines I really wasn't sure what to expect nor what to pair with it.  The wine was not overly expensive but was more than I normally spend for a wine to have with a weeknight dinner costing about $30.  

I read several articles about this wine while trying to decide what meal I would like to make to pair with it.  I was making a recipe for Chicken Braised in Balsamic Vinegar and thought that it might make a nice pairing with this Cabernet/Temperanillo blend.  

Was it a perfect pairing?  No.  Was it a reasonably good pairing?  I believe so.  The wine is fruity with hints of dark chocolate.  It stood up well to the richness of the dish and the sweet tartness of the vinegar.  I will be sharing the recipe on this blog on April 8th and you will want to come back for it because it is a wonderfully comforting dish that I'm sure you will enjoy.

This bottle of Special Select wine is truly special.  It is my kind of wine....deep, dark, and smooth.  My husband and I enjoyed the rest of the bottle after dinner and both agreed that while it was food friendly, food is definitely not needed to enjoy this bottle.

24 comments:

  1. Sometimes reasonably good pairings are good enough, right?! That wine sounds delicious. I can't wait to hear more about your dish on the 8th.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We had the privilege of visiting this winery -- if you ever get a chance, the property is stunning and the wines were terrific across the board!

    ReplyDelete
  3. There is so much more of this region that I want to explore! The wine sounds lively with its chocolate notes. Tempranillo, cab sav and syrah...those are some heavy hitters in that blend!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That wine sounds delicious on its own, but I am eager to see your recipe, too. I love a good rich wine!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Can’t wait to see your chicken recipe. I LOVE this wine too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's not always easy to hit 100% right on when it comes to pairings! Balsamic may be that perfect item to bridge the pairing gap and make it work.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Such a good bottle! I know it's a little pricier than the usual, but hope you enjoyed it (sounds like it!) even it wasn't a perfect match with the food

    ReplyDelete
  8. A very nice wine, indeed. And a great intro to the lovely Tempranillo made in Ribera del Duero!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm so glad you had a good experience with Ribera del Duero, fun to "visit" somewhere new through their wines.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Always thrilled when I get chocolate notes in a wine! I pair chicken and red wine a lot, so will be checking back for your recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sounds like you had a great introduction to Castille y Leon. Cheers to you Wendy.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This sounds like a wine I need to try. When, it comes to pairing food and wine sometimes "peaceful co-existence" is a good thing. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy getting comments and feedback from my audience. Please let me know what you think, keeping in mind that we are all entitled to our own beliefs and opinions. I am happy to hear yours as long as they are stated nicely.