What is the best wine to drink with a smoked meat on rye?
This is not a theoretical question, but a practical matter of life and death. I recently ate a sandwich at Caplansky’s Delicatessen, a micro-restaurant squirreled away at the back of the dingy Monarch Tavern in Toronto’s Little Italy. I’ve never particularly enjoyed deli sandwiches before – even from the smoked meat Holy of Holies, Schwartz’s Montreal Hebrew Deli. But Caplansky’s changed my life.
The Caplansky smoked meat is the closest I have ever come to that experience that sophomore food critics call “revelatory”. After my first bite, I noticed the protein beginning to melt in my mouth. By bite number two, I detected a distant choir humming something about Hosannahs. On the third bite, I am fairly certain that a beam of sunshine slid through the clouds and crowned my head in a soft halo. Plus, there was a free pickle.
But the usual food-wine pairing charts that clutter up the internet are sadly lacking when it comes to Montreal smoked meat, so I’ve had to do some extensive research on my own. The results: Rioja!
Rioja is the greatest red wine region in Spain, ranking with Bordeaux, Barolo and Burgundy in terms of producing the world’s iconic bottles – but good Rioja is much cheaper than its French or Italian rivals. And more importantly, it has what it takes to dance with Caplansky. Rioja is famous for an earthy and leathery character that picks up the spice in Caplansky’s meat. It has the juicy acidity to cut through the fatty bits, but its mellow fruit flavours won’t overpower the sandwich either. It is, if I may say, an elegant combination.
Here are some particularly good Riojas (with or without smoked meat):
- Navarrsotillo’s 2004 “Magister Bibendi” Rioja Crianza (
$19.95[Ed. note: No longer available], Vintages #118125) is a fantastic bargain. It has lively and generous raspberry notes with accents of cedar and the aroma of freshly dug soil. The flavours are in complete harmony. The tannins are still young and punchy, but will calm down in the next three years. 90/100. - Conde De Valdemar’s 2001 Rioja Gran Reserva (
$39.95[Ed. note: No longer available], Vintages #114504) shows off one of the great benefits of Rioja: its almost unlimited capacity to age. This is already showing a nice maturity with hints of dried flowers and autumn leaves. It is gentle and ready now, but will continue to evolve until 2015. 91/100 - Ontanon’s 2001 Rioja Reserva ($24.95 [Ed. note: 2001 no longer available], Vintages #725895) is spicier and more tightly wound than the others. It has a solid core of ripe red cherry and currant. It’s at its best on the finish, when the distinctive flavour of the Tempranillo grape shines through. Best to wait 2 years for it to loosen up. 89/100.
Matthew Sullivan is a civil litigator in Toronto. He writes a weekly blog entry here on lawandstyle.ca. The Short Cellar column appears in the print edition of Precedent. Matthew can be reached at matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca