Where Spain delivers great value high quality wines....

24 July 2011: Last night I went with a girl friend to the recently opened Betty's Kitchen  in Hong Kong.  Just the perfect place for 2 girl friends to enjoy a bottle of wine, over some delicious and unpretentious food!  I would describe the food at Betty's Kitchen as hearty bistro-style food, drawn from different national cuisines, French, Italian, Spanish and of course English!  Could the chef be persuaded to add a couple of Asian classics (with a bit of tweaking) into the menu??  (That would be really nice!) Anyway, what really impressed me about this restaurant were the very professional service, the well-priced and thoughtfully designed wine list, and the low-key but chic decor (the lighting just bright enough to avoid an overly serious atmosphere and the well-managed noise level giving the restaurant a lively modern buzz).   

I chose a bottle of 2008 Camins del Priorat by Alvaro Palacios.  I was so happy to see this wine on the wine list as I recently tried it in Barcelona and thought it was a tasty approachable wine, by Alvaro Palacios, whose wine (L'Ermita being the top wine) would normally be rather expensive and need a long cellaring period to be drinking well. 

2008 Camins del Priorat (young vines of 60% Carinena, 30% Grenache, 10% Cab Sauvignon/Syrah)

Blackberries, black cherry, liquorice, chocolate, a hint of eucalyptus and tobacco and layered with vanilla. Palate packed with sweet ripe fruit and nicely structured with ripe tannin and fresh acidity. Velvet texture and a nice rounded finish. Well-made in an elegant but easily approachable style. (And I adore the rather sweet-looking label) Drink now - 2016.  15/20

I thought it was a great choice to have on the list, as it had charming character, without being intimidating, easy to understand and appreciate, and would easily go with any of the dishes on the menu, with the rather velvety texture and soft tannin/acidity.  (I love finding great value and off-the-beaten track wines from restaurant wine lists!  Of course, this pursuit is not always rewarded with nice surprises....and it has brought me some less than pleasant ones over the years!)

Another wine I noticed on the wine list at Betty's was a 2008 Tres Picos, Bodegas Borsao, Campo de Borja.  Campo de Borja DO is in the region of Aragon, southeast of Navarra.  Although Campo de Borja does not enjoy the fame of Priorat, nor boast the famous llicorella soil, its vineyards are found at high altitudes of limestone-based slopes, as high as 700 metres, allowing the indigenous grapes (including some very old vines) to slowly retain fresh acidity and attain a high degree of concentration of flavours and ripeness (expressed in both sugar and phenolic ripenesses). This DO has been producing high quality wines speaking of power, concentration and elegance, at reasonable prices.  Same characteristics are found in the DO of Calatayud, which is right next door to Carinena DO, where the grape of the same wine originated.  These 3 DO's are all in the province of Zaragoza, the capital city of the same name is on the river Ebro.   The 2008 Tres Picos is 100% Garnacha (low-yielding 35 - 40 year old vines grown at 600 - 700 metres high) and definitely worth trying. 

Another wine from this region that I recently tried was the 2008 Las Rocas Vinas Viejas, San Alejandro from DO Calatayud (but not on Betty's wine list).  The vines are low-yielding 60 - 80 years old grown at 800 - 1,100 metres high.  21 days of post-fermentation maceration, complemented by micro-oxygenation before malolactic fermentation. This is a wine with plenty of concentration and finesse, with a rich and mouthfilling palate made of layers of spices, berries and floral, and a nice long finish.  A big wine, not for the faint hearted, but an extremely well-made effort! 

All these wines from Spain are very reasonably priced and definitely worth seeking out if you are interested in characterful wines that speak of their origin!  Happy tasting!

P.S. Just for the record, we shared a duck confit which was perfectly cooked and the spicy Carinena in our wine went rather well with the duck, and the wine had just enough acidity to cut through the fat!  Yummy!