A weird experience at a legendary restaurant in Spain, featuring 1970 Viña Ardanza
A weird experience at a legendary restaurant in Spain, featuring 1970 Viña Ardanza
by CondorKhan
18 Comments
CondorKhan
So last year I went to Spain and visited the legendary Jose Maria in Segovia, as detailed in [this post](https://redd.it/1e7cjzn). Went to Spain again a couple of weeks ago and of course I was going to return to Jose Maria, since the experience had been magical.
So same as last year, order the suckling pig and ask to see the wine list looking for aged gems, and I spotted 1970 Ardanza at the extremely reasonable price of 120 euro, so I figure I’ll give it a go.
The exact same guy as last year this time warned me very sternly to not order old wine, and that they would not refund old bottles that were to my liking. I explained to him that I understand the risk, that it’s not my first time ordering old wine, not even at this very same restaurant, and I tell him how the experience went last time around. I know it’s him because he’s in the pictures.
He brings up the bottle and it has an excellent fill and looks nice and dark through the green glass. He’s still telling me to not do it and to order the house’s Pago de Carraovejas. As a matter of fact, he really wants me to order Pago de Carraovejas and is pushing it aggressively. I tell him that I want the Ardanza, that I’ll never have the chance to try this for 120 euro in the US and that I’ll happily take the loss if it’s bad.
So exactly as last year, they make a big show of the opening, bringing out a cart with a decanter and a Vinturi. He opens the bottle perfectly with the cork in nearly one piece and decants it like a pro. This being a big show immediately draws the attention of the adjacent tables, including one where some guy who I couldn’t tell if he was German or Dutch is very amused at the whole exchange.
I’m given a taste, and I declare that it’s pretty good. It has plenty of acid, some dry fruit, but it’s very tertiary, lots of mushroom, leather. Not a hint of oxidation despite the brownish color. Exactly what I was expecting. Not as spellbinding as last year’s 1952 Berberana and clearly further on the downslope, but it’s still a great, rare experience and it tasted really great with the suckling pig (which was absolutely stellar, even better than last year). I tell him to bring a glass and try it himself. He pours a whole glass for himself, takes a small sip, and declares “I told you this is gone” and rudely leaves the glass on the table right in front of me and walks away. So now I have 1/5th of the bottle left unusable.
At this point, the German/Dutch guy comes over with a big smile, give me his phone and he has a Youtube video “How to know if wine is good”. I tell him to get the fuck out of my face.
What a shame, everything else about the experience was amazing. If I go back, I’ll be sure to order beer.
zappapostrophe
What a prick. How weird!
sid_loves_wine
Damn, couple of weirdos. Nice work on the boundary with the dutch guy LMAO. Glad the pairing was still beautiful
wine-o-saur
How very bizarre.
REAPERBANSHEE
Why sell it if you don’t want a customer to drink it? And if you enjoyed it, doesn’t really matter. Snobs be snobbin.
msdeezee
What a jerk! This is baffling behavior…. Wasting a whole 20% of your bottle is diabolical! If the wine was good enough I probably would have drank after his rude ass though, ngl.
Disastrous_Square_10
I wouldn’t be going back.
RUMPOLEofthebailey87
Let me preface this by saying I know nothing about wine. But that is terrible service, the sommelier was extremely rude and that German/Dutch patron sounds like a dick.
I would have definitely complained.
ansate
I thought for sure you were gonna say the German guy wanted to taste it or something.
As for ordering beer next time, if their wine list is good, I’d go back and order old wine again, asshole Somm or not. Damn sure wouldn’t let him taste it anymore though.
OhCrapItsAndrew
Sheesh I would have had a chat with the maître d’ on the spot.
A_Light_Spark
It almost seems like the restaurant wants to get a bad review.
ryanosaurusrex1
I wonder if the somm wanted to try and keep that bottle for himself or someone else?
Offmoreandef
José María is the creator of the Pago de Carraovejas wine, they even have a special version called Jose Maria “autor” that they only sell at the restaurante, of course they will try to push their own wine specially to a guiri (no offense) and of course is wrong and rude, I’ve been to Jose Maria several times and that has never been my experience, I’m pretty sure Jose Maria himself would love to know about this disgruntled and rude “sumiller”
idunnomysex
This reminds me of when I worked at a deli and we would push our precooked sandwiches to drunk people instead of other products because it would make serving faster and we had a better profit margin
As some other guy says the wine was maybe there for prestige, maybe they wanted to sell it to the “right” people (whomever that might be), get rid of other wines…or he had a bad day, who knows. People get mad at tourists for all kinds of reasons, right or wrong. Very weird situation overall though.
Sounds like you handled it really well, glad you had a pleasant evening.
MyNebraskaKitchen
Are there restaurants that have rarer wines on the menu simply so they can say they have them, but never expect to sell them?
I know one wine shop that keeps a DRC La Teche in their rare wines cooler, I think they’ve sold one over the last 20+ years.
Qoyuble
Yeah that other tourist does sound Dutch. Dutch culture has a weird open directness without filters, which in most other cultures is absolute asshole behavior. Most Dutch guys inhibiting that behavior either don’t know that’s how they come across or do and find it super funny. Telling him to F off without explaining is best. (I’m a Dutch guy to be clear, and only started to recognize this after years as an expat. When traveling in countries frequented by Dutch tourists I make very sure not to be associated with the Dutch)
Enjoy-Old-Grapejuice
Strange experience, but cool wine and food. What happens to the American oak flavors in an Ardanza that old? Do the coconut and baking spice evolve into something interesting or does it fade away?
18 Comments
So last year I went to Spain and visited the legendary Jose Maria in Segovia, as detailed in [this post](https://redd.it/1e7cjzn). Went to Spain again a couple of weeks ago and of course I was going to return to Jose Maria, since the experience had been magical.
So same as last year, order the suckling pig and ask to see the wine list looking for aged gems, and I spotted 1970 Ardanza at the extremely reasonable price of 120 euro, so I figure I’ll give it a go.
The exact same guy as last year this time warned me very sternly to not order old wine, and that they would not refund old bottles that were to my liking. I explained to him that I understand the risk, that it’s not my first time ordering old wine, not even at this very same restaurant, and I tell him how the experience went last time around. I know it’s him because he’s in the pictures.
He brings up the bottle and it has an excellent fill and looks nice and dark through the green glass. He’s still telling me to not do it and to order the house’s Pago de Carraovejas. As a matter of fact, he really wants me to order Pago de Carraovejas and is pushing it aggressively. I tell him that I want the Ardanza, that I’ll never have the chance to try this for 120 euro in the US and that I’ll happily take the loss if it’s bad.
So exactly as last year, they make a big show of the opening, bringing out a cart with a decanter and a Vinturi. He opens the bottle perfectly with the cork in nearly one piece and decants it like a pro. This being a big show immediately draws the attention of the adjacent tables, including one where some guy who I couldn’t tell if he was German or Dutch is very amused at the whole exchange.
I’m given a taste, and I declare that it’s pretty good. It has plenty of acid, some dry fruit, but it’s very tertiary, lots of mushroom, leather. Not a hint of oxidation despite the brownish color. Exactly what I was expecting. Not as spellbinding as last year’s 1952 Berberana and clearly further on the downslope, but it’s still a great, rare experience and it tasted really great with the suckling pig (which was absolutely stellar, even better than last year). I tell him to bring a glass and try it himself. He pours a whole glass for himself, takes a small sip, and declares “I told you this is gone” and rudely leaves the glass on the table right in front of me and walks away. So now I have 1/5th of the bottle left unusable.
At this point, the German/Dutch guy comes over with a big smile, give me his phone and he has a Youtube video “How to know if wine is good”. I tell him to get the fuck out of my face.
What a shame, everything else about the experience was amazing. If I go back, I’ll be sure to order beer.
What a prick. How weird!
Damn, couple of weirdos. Nice work on the boundary with the dutch guy LMAO. Glad the pairing was still beautiful
How very bizarre.
Why sell it if you don’t want a customer to drink it? And if you enjoyed it, doesn’t really matter. Snobs be snobbin.
What a jerk! This is baffling behavior…. Wasting a whole 20% of your bottle is diabolical! If the wine was good enough I probably would have drank after his rude ass though, ngl.
I wouldn’t be going back.
Let me preface this by saying I know nothing about wine. But that is terrible service, the sommelier was extremely rude and that German/Dutch patron sounds like a dick.
I would have definitely complained.
I thought for sure you were gonna say the German guy wanted to taste it or something.
As for ordering beer next time, if their wine list is good, I’d go back and order old wine again, asshole Somm or not. Damn sure wouldn’t let him taste it anymore though.
Sheesh I would have had a chat with the maître d’ on the spot.
It almost seems like the restaurant wants to get a bad review.
I wonder if the somm wanted to try and keep that bottle for himself or someone else?
José María is the creator of the Pago de Carraovejas wine, they even have a special version called Jose Maria “autor” that they only sell at the restaurante, of course they will try to push their own wine specially to a guiri (no offense) and of course is wrong and rude, I’ve been to Jose Maria several times and that has never been my experience, I’m pretty sure Jose Maria himself would love to know about this disgruntled and rude “sumiller”
This reminds me of when I worked at a deli and we would push our precooked sandwiches to drunk people instead of other products because it would make serving faster and we had a better profit margin
As some other guy says the wine was maybe there for prestige, maybe they wanted to sell it to the “right” people (whomever that might be), get rid of other wines…or he had a bad day, who knows. People get mad at tourists for all kinds of reasons, right or wrong. Very weird situation overall though.
Sounds like you handled it really well, glad you had a pleasant evening.
Are there restaurants that have rarer wines on the menu simply so they can say they have them, but never expect to sell them?
I know one wine shop that keeps a DRC La Teche in their rare wines cooler, I think they’ve sold one over the last 20+ years.
Yeah that other tourist does sound Dutch. Dutch culture has a weird open directness without filters, which in most other cultures is absolute asshole behavior. Most Dutch guys inhibiting that behavior either don’t know that’s how they come across or do and find it super funny. Telling him to F off without explaining is best. (I’m a Dutch guy to be clear, and only started to recognize this after years as an expat. When traveling in countries frequented by Dutch tourists I make very sure not to be associated with the Dutch)
Strange experience, but cool wine and food. What happens to the American oak flavors in an Ardanza that old? Do the coconut and baking spice evolve into something interesting or does it fade away?
Not a fucking YouTube video hahaha