2013 Lopez de Heredia, Cubillo, Rioja Crianza + Chaval's Lamb and Pipperada

With Chef Damian Sansonetti of Chaval

By Tyler Edgerley

 
 

For our March Wine Club members, we curated the 2013 Cubillo Rioja Crianza from Lopez de Heredia. When thinking about what to pair with this delicious wine, there was only one Chef to tap for the job. Knowing that he has a particular love affair with the winery, we had no doubt he’d come up with the perfect dish. Sansonetti cooks like Lopez makes wines ... patiently.

In 2017, Chef Damian partnered with his wife, Pastry Chef Ilma Lopez, to open their acclaimed Spanish-French restaurant, Chaval, located in the West End of Portland. Chaval’s cozy and upscale vibe makes it the ideal spot for a dinner date or a night out with friends.  The kitchen is located in the middle of the restaurant between the dining rooms so you really get a chance to experience the flow and energy of the kitchen as you watch professionals create wonderful dishes that you won't soon forget.

The wine: Fourth-generation Mercedes Lopez de Heredia has carried on the tradition of making world-class wines for over 145 years. The winery is one of the first three in Rioja and has quite a cult following. The Cubillo is a classic representation of the Rioja region, known for its elegant, complex, and long-aged red wines in American oak. The wine is all estate grapes, mostly Tempranillo with small percentages of Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo grapes, and it's aged for three years in large American oak and three more years in the bottle before being released. According to the philosophy the winery has that they will never release a wine that is not ready to drink. The wine is deep ruby with tones of garnet. On the nose, this wine offers aromas of chocolate-dipped strawberry, cherry, blackcurrant, and plum with abundant and integrated notes of cinnamon, vanilla, coconut, caramel, and cedar. On the palate, it's medium-bodied with a silky texture and flavors of red fruit, leather, and tobacco. This wine has a long and elegant finish, with soft tannins and balanced acidity.

Sansonetti’s Lamb & Pipperada is a flawless match for this wine. The bold and flavorful dish complements the wine's attributes perfectly. The juicy and tender lamb marries with the wine's savory notes and tannic structure, while the pipperada's spicy and smoky flavors are a great match for the wine's subtle hints of spice and oak. Overall, this pairing is a perfect balance of flavors and textures, making it an excellent choice for any occasion.

We hope you enjoy making this delicious dish and experiencing this beautiful pairing just as much as we did! ¡Buen provecho!

 

RECIPE

Chaval's Lamb and Pipperada

We can’t wait for you to try it with the wine in this month’s wine club deliveries! You can also find this wine in our Explorer Women Winemakers 6-Bottle Set or in a customized wine selection.

 

Serves

2-3 people

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

20 min

 
 

Ingredients:

  • 1lb boned out lamb leg section 

  • 1-2 tablespoon Olive or Canola oil for cooking 

  • ½-1 large Spanish onion, julienned

  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded & julienned 

  • 1-2 red bell pepper, seeded & julienned

  • 2-3 plum tomatoes, seeded & julienned 

  • 1 pickled Fresno pepper seeded & minced (Or pickled gundilla chilies) 

  • 2-4 cloves garlic, crushed & minced (add more or less wanted)

  • 1 tsp espelette or Aleppo pepper

  • 1/2 tsp pimentón De la Vera

  • 1/4 cup green olives , chopped 

  • Fluer de Sel or maldon 

  • Kosher salt & ground black pepper to taste 

  • Nice finishing olive oil 

  • 1 lemon for zesting 

 

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a medium sauce pot or rondeaux pan over medium heat.

  2. Add chopped onions and sauté until translucent, for about 30-60 seconds.

  3. Add in the chopped red and green peppers, and cook until they become aromatic.

  4. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant.

  5. Add 1 teaspoon of pimentón and continue cooking until fragrant.

  6. Next, add in the chopped tomatoes and the chives, making sure to remove the seeds. Cook until everything starts to come together, for about 10 minutes.

  7. Add in the chopped olives and Fresno pepper.

  8. While Pipperada is cooking, cook your lamb.

  9. Heat your oven to 400* F 

  10. Heat a saute pan over high heat and add oil when the pan begins to smoke, turn off the heat and add lamb pieces, leaving about an inch or so between each piece, turn the heat back on and sear on both sides, about 2 minutes each.

  11. Remove lamb from heat and place into oven (if using a nonstick skillet, place lamb onto a baking sheet) bake for approximately 3 minutes 

  12. Rest for about 5 minutes then slice against the grain

  13. To serve, spoon the piperada (pepper-tomato mixture) onto a plate, and place the sliced lamb on top. Sprinkle with lemon zest and finishing salt.

Chef/Owner Damian Sansonetti of Chaval

Before Chef Damian Sansonetti was the acclaimed chef de cuisine at the uber-French Bar Boulud in New York, co-owner Damian Sansonetti grew up savoring his mother's and grandmother's cooking from handmade pasta to grilled fish to learning how to cure meat and make sausages with his grandfather. A career in food was practically his birthright. After graduating from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, Sansonetti worked at Nantucket’s Brant Point Grill and Pittsburgh’s Steelhead Grill, moving to New York to open Heartbeat in the W Hotel. Sansonetti met Daniel Boulud while working at Shallots in Midtown and eventually took a position at Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne. Sansonetti was a 2022 finalist for the James Beard Award, Best Chef Northeast.

 
Wine Wise