Astrales with Hamachi Kama
Astrales
Winery Astrales
www.astrales.es
D.O.: Ribera del Duero
Grapes: 100% Tinta fina
Ageing: 22 months in barrel
Price: 25€
Excerpt from the book “Pairings of spanish wines with exotic cuisines”.
Click to see the preparation of these dishes, in Asian recipes.
Pueden ver la versión en español pinchando en This winery was born at the beginning of this century, when the streets were paved with gold in Spain. It had very presumptuous ideas, like making just a great “reserva” wine, the best of Ribera.
The “Mauro” family (“García” sounds poor) abandoned the sinking ship in hard times, but another classy winemaker came, none other than Pepe Hidalgo, and Luis Delgado, the owner, can relax in the knowledge that the 97/100 score given by Proensa on its 2015 guide will not be just a memory.
Little-known as it is, Astrales is one of the greatest in Ribera de Duero. Located in the harsh lands of Anguix, in the Burgos region, and using its own grapes, harvest after harvest the wines are gaining harmony –they were powerful from the beginning. Very ripe fruit and unbeatably toasted wood dominate, but minerality must also be tasted, because it is really surprising.
Hamachi Kama
In many respects, this is a gourmet dish that is served only in grill restaurants specialized in fish, and never outside Japan, unless you know the owner of some Japanese restaurant in Europe and trust him as to order this dish in advance.
It is not an expensive dish; in fact that grouper collar shown in the picture was a present from my fishmonger because it is hardly marketed. Few restaurants buy whole pieces nowadays, so they do not offer that cut, unless they specialize in Hamachi Kama, of course.
In Japan it is usually prepared with the collars of a farming perch called yellowtail. The fish is served alive on the table and dissected in the customer’s view (they are like this), then the collars are collected and grilled as explained in the recipe.
Pairing
Dealing with a wine like this one, one of the best in Spain, is a big responsibility for anyone. Nevertheless, it was Luis who drew my attention to this unusual pairing he had tried at the other side of the world. I felt that a door was opened, but I could not imagine what I would find at the other side.
When I sat at the table I understood that this would be one of the star pairings in this book. Something like this happens with every book I write, the miracle of pairings, a combination I would have never thought of.
It is easy to find explanations after the event: the collar being the most gelatinous and greasy part of the fish, the toasted flavour from the grill, the clean tastes and so forth. I strongly advice you to do the test; you will be flabbergasted by an experience you will not forget. You may even try it with other similar preparations.