Taking Flight in Madrid

After a wine-soaked trip to Italy in April, where winery visits took center stage, we had a hankering for some big-city history and culture, heavy on the art, light on the vino. So we booked a trip to Spain, starting in Madrid [home of Dali, Miro, and Picasso], moving to Bilbao [home of the Guggenheim], and ending in Tarragona [gateway to the Priorat wine region.] Yep, we added a couple days of wine tasting because, well, it’s Spain.

MADRID: FIRST CAME THE ART

The centerpiece of our stay in Madrid was a tour of the Museo Reina Sofia, [left] Spain’s preeminent contemporary art museum. The main attraction is Guernica, [below] Picasso’s terrifying portrayal of the 1937 bombing of a town in Basque Country by Hitler in support of General Franco’s fascist side in the Spanish Civil War. The mural-sized canvas [11ft x25.6 ft] returned to Spain in 1981 after spending 42 years at MOMA in NY during Franco’s rule.

Guernica is an extraordinary work of art and certainly worth a visit to Reina Sofia alone. But the rest of the collection is superb. More Picasso, plenty of Dali, Joan Miro, and Juan Gris.

MADRID: THEN CAME THE WINE
Vinology Wine Bar, Zurbano St, 13

Madrileños do love their wine. They seem to start drinking it around 11 am, continue through 2pm lunch, and on into the [very late] night. So it’s no surprise VinoDuo found a wine bar to while away the hours after museum-going and sightseeing. Vinology, in the buzzing Chamberí district, met all our criteria: engaging sommeliers; a broad selection of tapas; and a variety of wine flights. We introduced ourselves to Sommelier Maria José Anaya, expressed our interest in ordering two flights of wine, and she did the rest. Soon, eight small pours of Spanish wine–four whites made from indigenous Spanish grapes and four reds drawn from several Spanish wine regions–appeared, along with a plate of local cheeses.

Two Flights, Three Winners
Ms. Anaya was a pure delight; full of enthusiasm and deeply knowledgeable about each wine and its provenance. Of the eight wines she selected, three emerged as our “best in show.

1. Abadia Retuerta Le Domaine Blanco de Guarda; Castilla y Léon, 2022; $59 at Station Plaza Wine; 80% Sauv Blanc, 20% Verdejo. What a knock-out! Pale yellow, with surprising scents of citrus, mint and spices. It’s oaky, but in a good way; a smooth and brilliant food wine. Hit of the all-white wine tasting!

2. Vina Sastre Crianza; Ribera Del Duero, 2022; $27 at Decantalo.com; 100% Tempranillo; 24 months on oak. Cassis with black fruit on the nose; full bodied, with dark and brooding fruit in the glass

3. Alvaro Palacios Camins del Priorat, 2023; $24 at Saratoga Wine Exchange ; 45% Garnacha, 17% Cariñena, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Syrah, 6% White Grapes; Nose has firm minerality, noting the slate and sedimentary rock. Palate is full on creamy velvet, fresh with dark red fruit. The star of the all-red wine tasting!

Two More Wines Discovered in Madrid
While wandering around our Salamanca neighborhood we found two excellent wines from the Tempranillo grape to recommend. Both were served at Lamucca de Serrano, a crazy-busy restaurant down the street from our hotel. Black crust pizza washed down with €5 wine…perfecta.
• Dominio del Bendito 2023, $16
• Obalo Rioja Rosé 2023, $16 [must buy $99 worth]