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 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, 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 in the French style, something totally revolutionary in Spain at that time, creating new wines with less wood and making them affordable. The first vintage was very successful and contributed to their brand’s strong reputation.

Marques de Caceres is the Spanish leader in exporting quality wines, present in more than 120 countries, including Vietnam (you can find their wines at the Wine Warehouse), they excel in making quality, affordable (around VND450,000) wines designed to be imbibed 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 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 are 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, an ideal wine to enjoy in the 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 favorites 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 offering with 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, affordable Spanish wines, their Rioja and Ribera de Duero in particular, are starting to become very popular with Vietnamese who like good quality but are money conscious.

For more information about wine in Vietnam, visit: wineinvietnam.blogspot.com.