The Christians King’s Fortress, mirror of the history of Cordoba (I)

Cordoba was known as the city of the 700 taverns. It was founded about the year 152 bC and it was the capital of Hispania Baetica, one of the two provinces of Hispania Ulterior (further Hispania). The other province of Hispania Ulterior was Lusitania.

The Romans made a commercial harbor in the Guadalquivir River and next to it they constructed a building where the Governor and the Quaestor lived. Customs (Forum Censorium) was also located in the building. The one and only Julius Caesar lived there when he was the Quaestor in the year 65 bC. The dimensions of this building were even larger than the current Fortress.

When the Arabs arrived they built over the ruins of the Omaya Palace. Next to the Fortress the Emir Al-Hakan I ordered the construction of two big stables to shelter his more than 2000 Arab pure blood horses. After the conquest those horses were used by the Christian Kings. 

When the Caliph Abd Al-Rahman III ascended to the throne, the Fortress lost importance in favor of the Medinat Al-Zahra. From this Arab epoch the only remains are the Baths of Caliphate, moldings and some geometric decoration in friezes and skirting boards. 

The Christian troops of the King Saint Ferdinand III reconquered the city in 1236 and then the Fortress was used as the royal residence. Alfonso X the Wise was the one who started to use the Fortress as a real fortress and it was Alfonso XI the Avenger in 1328 who fortified the fortress with walls and towers which are still well preserved. 

In 1482 the Fortress became the headquarters of the Catholic King’s troops and it was also their residence for eight years during the fight to conquer back the Reign of Granada, which was the last Spanish territory governed by the Muslims. This territory was recovered the 2nd January 1492, when the King Boabdil El Chico surrendered to the King Ferdinand and the Queen Isabel. The capitulations had been previously signed the 25th November 1491.

One of the daughters of the Catholic Kings, María, was born in the Fortress, and the first bullfight that took place in Cordoba was celebrated in the gardens of the Fortress. That bullfight was in the honor of one of the Catholic Kings’ son, Juan.

In the year 1486 the Kings received in the Fortress to Christopher Columbus.

In 1492, when Spain was reunified, the Kings left Cordoba and authorized the Inquisition to use the Fortress as their headquarters. Due to this new use some of the areas of the Fortress were modified, for example, they built dungeons as well as balconies in two of their four towers in order to hang the condemned.

The Inquisition used the Fortress until it was abolished by the Cadiz Cortes in 1812. After that it was used as a civil prison from 1822 to 1932 and then it became a military facility until 1955 when the building and the garden were given to Cordoba City Hall. 

The 4th of June of 1931 it was qualified as a Historical Monument and in 1994 it was considered together with an area of Cordoba as World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

2004 Calvario, a great “terroir” wine

Our Colombians friends, who are on holidays in Spain, have come to visit us. Since they are great friends we take this opportunity to open this Rioja wine which is considered “high range” due to its price.

This wine comes from Finca Allende’s winery, in the village of Briones, in Rioja Alta, only 7 kilometers away from Haro. This winery is the dream of its owner, the oenologist Miguel Ángel de Gregorio. He wanted to make a Rioja wine of “terroir” and he founded his winery in 1995. The wine is named “Calvario” (Calvary) due to the station of the cross which ends in a small mountain considered as the Calvary. The winery is located in one of the hillsides, and that is why the wine was called “Calvario”.

The grapes used to make this wine come from a vineyard planted in 1945 that it is not bigger than 4.96 acres of clayey soil with gravel and stones. The winery has a total of 103.97 acres: 1 acre of white grape (60% of Viura and 40% of Malvasía) and the rest is black grape (95% is Tempranillo – older than 45 years-, 4% of Graciano and 1% of Garnacha –older than 50 years).

The winery has about 2300 casks: 100 American and the rest are French. The annual production is 350000 bottles.

This 2004 Calvario wine is made with Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano grapes and it ages in a new French cask for 14 months.

TASTING

Bordeaux type bottle, dressed with an elegant label. Excelent cork. 14% of alcoholic level.

Sight: Cherry red color, the rim of the wine is ruby. Bright and clean. Several drops are dense.

Nose: It delivers an alluring perfume of red fruits (raspberry), latte toffee, balsamics and toasty new oak, wineskin and cacao.

Mouth: Strong but sweet impression, with excellent structure and correct sharpness with good fruity expression, notes of fine wood and spices. The final taste is pretty long with toasted notes and mature berries.

A round wine, sweet and very elegant: every sip is asking you for more… a great wine, the only disadvantage is the price: 65€. RPQ could be better.

Melody Gardot (II), her story & music

We have received some videos of Melody Gardot, a woman with a voice that fascinates us, with few lines of her life that we want to share. Furthermore, while we talk about her in this little corner we didnt add any video so take advantage of this second post to do so.

Melody as a teenager was hit by a car while riding her bicycle. The consequences were severe: lost part of her memory, took extra sensitivity to light (so it is almost always seen wearing sunglasses even indoors) and had to walk for a long time with a cane by attacks of vertigo. All of this led to the near exclusion of their university studies towards disability.

As a therapy to combat brain damage began to study music and gradually got to get a unique rehabilitation. That search for Melody Gardot before the accident, who was and what it was was what motivated him in his musical career.

And things in life, thanks to a serious accident, we can now enjoy her art, her talent and sensitivity.










The great talents of music are not distinguished in the studies but in live. Melody further demonstrates their talent on the stage. In this video, acting at the famed The Troubador de Santa Monica Blvd in the West Hollywood.

Jurançon, the sweet side of the Pyrenees

The natives of the Jurançon area proudly proclaim that they have the oldest appellation of origin of the world. The French zone is west of the Pyrenees, at the height of the Spanish province of Navarra and claim that it was Navarra Parliament who created the name D.O. Jurançon in the fourteenth century.

Joined this sweet wine continued to history, when it was the christening of the future King Henry IV in 1553, he rubbed his lips with a clove of garlic and moistened with a drop of wine Jurançon. So it was considered "wine of kings, king of wines".

The extent of this designation is 550 hectares wine, divided into small plots at the foot of the Pyrenees. The vineyards have both high mountain climate and the pleasant breeze coming from the Bay of Biscay. Two of the most important features of the strains in this region are very high to avoid spring frosts and grape seeds are highly resistant to climate change.

In this region we raise the 2004 Gourmandise Cancaillaü the winery Clos. It is a small family winery with a vineyard area of ​​2 hectares in Barrere (Lahourcade). Its annual production does not exceed the 4,300 bottles are made from 100% Petit Manseng grapes.

WINE TASTING

Bottle label wearing classic, very classic.

Visual: Honey Yellow, bright and clean. Tears quite dense.

Nose: It has a surprising entry that we discover the aromas and the geographical area where it is made. Outstanding notes of tropical fruits (coconut, mango, pineapple), nuts (almonds), honey, quince and caramel latte.

Palate: The attack very pleasant and elegant, velvety, almost affectionate, with good structure and acidity correct. The main themes are honeyed and fruity. His final long haul leaves your palate pampered for nothing cloying sweetness between honeyed notes and nuts.

A curious surprise dessert wine for our guests. The only but… to find it. Price about  los 12-15€. Good value / quality / price.

ELIA 07, affection for a daughter through wine

We climbed a small wine Designation of Origin became official in 2002, Montsant. Is an extension of horseshoe-shaped area surrounding the designation of origin of the Priorato. Although his D.O. officer is new, is a long history of wine area for many years was made in the DO Tarragona subzone of Falset.

The broth is climb the vintage 2007 and is the fruit of the Bodega Ficaria Vins, a family winery that has made this wine the name of his youngest daughter, Elia. This winery is located in the town of La Figuera (Tarragona). Elia is a wine made ​​from Garnacha Tinta multivarietal (80%), Shiraz (10%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%), all produced in their own vineyards, thus favoring the control of the entire process.

Fermentation was performed separately for each variety in stainless steel tanks of 1,000 liters. The aged in French Allier oak barrels of 225 liters for a period of time between 10 and 12 months. The production does not exceed 5,000 bottles.

WINE TASTING


Bordeaux bottle, dressed in simple but artistic label, representing an eye we assume to be the daughter. Alcohol Volume 14.8%

Visual: Picota Cardinals robe with piping. Brilliant. His tear is elegant and goes with the cup parsimony, tinted windows.

Nose: Input full of nuances with many red and black fruits ripe (blackberries, strawberries, raspberries), cacao, spices (black pepper), roasted, mineral and balsamic (mentholated).

Palate: powerful, nerve but still be tasty and delightful. Good structure, correct acidity and a tad of astringency. Alcohol very well integrated. Outstanding balsamic and toasted notes. It's a long wine journey that melts in your mouth leaving a load of ripe fruit and spices on your end.

An excellent wine to accompany dishes, stews power. Between 8-10 euros price, excellent value / quality / price

Alma de Mar, a numbered jewel

We've done three of the 1,000 bottles of Albariño wine lees Albamar that establishes each year, Alma de Mar, and quickly have gathered some friends to open and share it with them so little.

The first bottle is a wine tasting companion Mencia Designation of Origin Ribeira Sacra, Fusco, in Galician means "evening". Both wines are the fruit of the work of Alba and winemaker Xurxo wine tasting will upload another day.

This wine is made from strains of a parcel which is at the mouth of the river Umía with the Ria de Arosa. It is a plot with low yield, about 6,000 kilos per hectare when the normal of this area is in excess of 10.000k/ha.

The main feature in the production of this wine is allowed to stand it on its lees for almost six months. The lees are dead yeast deposited after alcoholic fermentation. The intent with this process is to give the wine complexity, smoothness and stability to the wines thanks to the contributions made to break the yeast cell wall.

This is due to perform "batonnage" which means removing the wine on the lees for the latter are in suspension and thus obtain additional aeration. In this case, during the first three months is done "batonnage" daily and the rest every week or ten days.


WINE TASTING

Burgundy-style bottle of thick glass with greenish color and dressed in fine stripes cheerful label in white and blue.

Visual: Lemon yellow, crystalline, brilliant. With slow and thick tear

Nose: A very elegant wine with fresh input. They leave notes of citrus (lemon, lime), balsamic (laurel), pastries (brioche), white fruit (pear) and a sweet touch of vanilla. salinity

Palate: creamy, velvety, subtle, with perfect acidity and structure. Are the notes of citrus and fruit predominate. Its finish is medium-long journey leaving his mouth hung with the final smoothness and taste very fresh.

Of course, in blind tasting could never claim to be an Albariño from Rias Baixas.

A wine that blends with seafood, fish and fresh goat cheeses, Emmental, and so on.

The only but I found ... there are only 1,000, not 997 bottles.

Karen Souza, Roger Rabbit would like to be

We share a woman who dares to sing the hits of the 80's with the rhythm of jazz. This discovery we owe it to our good friend, chef, entrepreneur, disc jockey, writer ...  Jose Maria Jordan A Casa de Comestibles restaurant from La Coruña, which we have already spoken in this little corner. Because it is easy to feed this musical section of the blog with the little obstacles that we set: must be women who sing like angels, they are beautiful, they pampered the Jazz or Bossa Nova and with all this, are not primarily known.

For the pearl that we share is Brazil Karen Souza. As a child I dreamed, like many children, to be a singer when I grew up. His musical career began with small producers of house music, where he sang under different pseudonyms. His first stakes with some success and were in albums or collections like Pacha Ibiza or Fashion TV.


He later participated in a work called "Bossa N 'Stones" and then a collection that mixed jazz with music from the 70's and following the success, the producers released two jobs with the same formula but with music from the 80's and 90's.

This year 2011, Amazon and iTunes wanted to produce some work with the most downloaded on their platforms. Then he found success subjects were anonymous starring Karen, so they decided to release it "Karen Souza, Essentials."

Karen is a woman attracted to the jazz musicians he admires like Miles Davis, Chet Baker or the great divas Ella, Billie Holiday or Peggy Lee, among others. Her voice is so velvety and seductive, it seems to us that Karen becomes, at times, to Jessica Rabbit that sings to melt and manipulate, like all "femme fatale".

The versions made ​​with extreme elegance, sometimes matched (or more) original, and that is very difficult. Work begins with "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" By Culture Club, which we like more than the original, but it's just our humble opinion. "Tainted Love" Soft Cell's incredible. Others to stand out, "Creep" by Radiohead, "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival or the "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.

What else can you tell ... listen to the issues that you have chosen and you will understand why we would like to be Roger Rabbit.