So, Madrid finally has a new, trendy wine destination. Located in the heart of the world’s coolest neighbourhood, Embajadores, (at least, according to Time Out) when I heard about it from wine friends, I was excited, but when a younger, cooler friend who doesn’t work in wine (current look: beanie hat, ugly glasses, clumpy trainers, bare ankles) mentioned it, I knew that this place was revolutionary, at least in Madrid terms. Could La Caníbal succeed where others (RIP Wine Attack) have failed?
Its first ingenious move has been to bring craft beer, real wine and artisan cheeses together under one roof. It serves no one to have wine hived off, babbling to itself about tannins, if no one else is listening. La Caníbal caters to people who drink both beer and wine depending on their mood, groups that combine #Ionlydrinkwine with craft beer-heads, and may even help convert a few of the latter into the former (we can but hope).
Second point in its favour, it is an annex to O Pazo de Lugo, which already draws a huge crowd due to its authentic Galician cuisine and award-winning tapas. In fact, when the unit that it is located in became vacant, next to the original restaurant, the initial thought was to knock the two into one and create a giant O Pazo, but instead the two have separate doors and a completely different look and feel, but are connected inside and share the same kitchen, offering classic Galician dishes.
Number three, it has a formidable team of experts behind it. Javier Vázquez, second generation behind O Pazo, is in charge, bringing a passion for authentic ingredients and good service, with Luis Vida Navarro consulting on the beer and wine side, and Guillermina Sánchez-Cerezo, Madrid’s foremost cheese expert or “fromelier” in the lactic arts.
Though, in terms of wine, what is really exciting is the way it is served. In keeping with the current packaging-reduction trend (see new zero-plastic supermarket Unpacked Shop https://www.unpackedshop.es/) seven taps serve a selection of wines via an ingenious 20-litre bag-in-box system. They can be ordered by the glass (at €2-2.20 the glass), ½ litre or litre carafe (around €9-10) and you can even buy a refillable La Caníbal branded swing-top glass bottle to take them home with you.
So what’s in there? Perhaps not what you expect, these are not the sort of wines that in the olden days were served in Madrid bodegas “en granel” or in bulk. In most cases, the small wineries that supply them only sell this way as Javier and the team send them the bags to refill, and although many were skeptical at first, some of the wineries are finding it hard to keep up with demand.
Javier describes the wines as all being “radically different” but they share a few key traits: all are minimum interventionist in style from sustainably managed vineyards. Luis says they are “real wines, natural wines with and without added sulphites, pure wines, without make-up.” For him, make-up means not only additives like cultivated yeasts or acid but also oak.
As someone who has been burned (literally and figuratively) by natural wines in the past, I am happy to say that not one of the wines I tasted resembled cider, although there were a few funky aromas to keep things interesting.
One of the things I love most is that rather than labels each of the taps features a photo of the person or people that made it. These are “naked wines,” continues Luis, all you have are the grapes that made the wine, the wine itself and the face of the person behind it.
Of all the wines on offer, the one that is the most conventional and easy to understand is made by the charming Gratias in Albacete. 100% Bobal, with a percentage of carbonic maceration giving notes of banana and cherry sweets over bright, vibrant fruit with just a touch of liquorice and Bobal’s slightly rustic, rubbery note. Simple but very enjoyable.
The most popular wine in the by-the-tap range is Nietos de María, a Garnacha made in Cebreros (Gredos) by a local family with the input of Daniel Ramos. It’s incredibly aromatic, combining notes of strawberry and blueberry with touches of earth and herbs like thyme and lavender. It has beautiful balance, with a very mineral profile and a long, savoury finish. No wonder it’s popular.
Another of my favourite wines was by Roberto Regal, a blend of 80% Mencia and 20% Garnacha Tintorera from Ribeira Sacra. Close your eyes and you could be on the steep, rocky banks of the River Miño, with the scent of ripe cherries and blackberries on the cool breeze. Very lean and mineral on the palate, it finishes with a touch of bitterness and salinity.
Then we get to the wilder side, with a dry PX made in a clay amphora [tinaja] by Miguel Cruz in Montilla-Moriles. It has hints of flor and a sulphurous note that reminds me of egg and cress sandwiches, over more attractive aromas of white flowers, green banana skin and pear. It is rounded with glycerine on the palate and big on alcohol (in this warm region wines can easily reach 15% abv without any fortification).
Then, that staple of the natural wine scene – an orange wine– this time from Frisach in Terra Alta. Made from Garnatxa Blanca without any SO₂, the orange colour comes from maceration on the skins for two months in oak butts, giving it a golden, orangey hue. It combines notes of wild herbs with orange peel and nuts, is very savoury on the palate, filling the mouth and leaving a long, mineral finish.
And to finish, with another wine for the brave, an all-natural, sulphur-free Tempranillo made by Julian Ruiz in Toledo. At first, I couldn’t get past an all-pervading aroma of mushrooms on the nose – not an unpleasant musty smell, but the aroma of fresh button mushrooms. This lifted with time to reveal notes of candied fruits, dried cherries, juniper and cardamom, cumin and other exotic spices. On the palate it burst with an explosion of blackberry fruit along with more spices, here I found cinnamon, and nuts. Well-structured, albeit not without its faults, it is a wine to sip and savour.
As if this were not enough, they have a whole wall of different bottled wines, including a very large selection of Sherry. To make it easier to choose, Luis selects 40 -50 wines per month to feature on the wine list, all of which are available by the glass, democratically priced at €2.50-3, as well as by the bottle. You can even take them home with a 25% discount. The only thing you won’t find much of is Rioja and Ribera, the odd bottle by innovative producers like Germán Blanco, but certainly no traditional oak-heavy Crianzas.
In terms of the food, the octopus, empanadas (pies), lacón (pork shoulder), Padrón spicy peppers and other Galician specialities all make perfectly serviceable accompaniments to the drink but the innovation is in the cheese boards. All artisan Spanish cheeses, selected by Martín Afinador Qava, they are themed by music – “Copla” includes classics such as Manchego, Mahón and Cabrales, “Pop” offers a good balance of flavours to please all, “Rock n’ Roll” goes a bit more off-piste with a smoked Idiazabal and Peralzola from Asturias, “Celta” remains firmly on Galician ground whereas “Indie” is the one for cheeses from small producers with names you’ve never heard of before. Now, how long before someone does the same with a wine list? A.H-N. Photo credits: Abel Valdenebro.
