My first wine-sip after a 10-days road trip in north Thailand happens to be with good quality Spanish wines, the Chivite wines to be precise. I attended the Bodegas Chivite lunch at Si Chuan Dou Hua (at UOB Plaza) on 10th June. Mr Eduardo Ruiz, Bodegas Chivite’s  export manager, was at hand to host the lunch.

In a world where wineries are increasingly owned by conglomerates, finance companies, banks and fashion houses; Bodegas Chivite stands as a family-owned winery. Founded in 1647, it stands among one of the oldest wine producing dynasties in Spain with over eleven generations of family members involved over time in producing the Chivite wines.

For this lunch, we tasted 2 whites and 3 reds from the Chivite range of wines accompanied by Chinese (shichuan) cuisine. The wines were:

2006 Chivite Gran Feudo Edicion, Chardonnay Sabre Lias
A chardonnay from the Navarra DO. The grapes harvested for this wine come from the southern part of Navarra. After fermentation, the wine stays on lees for 6 months and is kept in a mix of American and French oak to give it an added dimension in texture and flavour. This wine shows yellow colour of medium intensity, good brilliance and clarity. Hints of citrus, white fruits and wood show in aroma and flavours. A light to medium bodied wine, it is soft, fresh, balanced with good acid adding to its structure. Hints of citrus and acid lingers in its aftertaste.  

2006 Chivite Coleccion 125, Blanco
(This particular label was launched in 1985 to commemorate the 125 year anniversary of the 1st export of Bodegas Chivite wines back in 1860.) Again from the Navarra DO, this is a single varietal wine made from chardonnay. The grapes this time come from the northern part of Navarra. Upon fermentation, this wine spends some time on lees and is aged in small French barriques for 10 months. This wine is yellow in colour with medium intensity, shows aromas and flavours of citrus, butter and oak; holds good structure, shows a supple body in palate with a hint of smooth, buttery texture and a lingering finish. Elegant and enjoyable, this wine is still young and the ample acid in the background hints at further aging potential.  

2007 Chivite Gran Feudo Edicion, Seleccion Especial (Navarra DO)
This is a red wine made from a blend of tempranillo (50%), cabernet sauvignon (30%) and merlot (20%). Its bright red in colour and shows lots of black berries and cherries with a hint of spice on the nose. A medium bodied wine, it shows black cherries, leather and well-integrated oak elements in the palate; slightly astringent in nature with mouth drying quality and shows a good balance. Around 300,000 bottles were produced for the 2007 vintage.

2004 Chivite Gran Feudo Edicion, Vinsa Viejas Reserve (Navarra DO)
This is a red blend made from tempranillo (70%), garnacha (25%) and 5% of cabernet sauvignon and merlot.  The grapes for this wine come from the northern part of Navarra. The tempranillo vines are 40 to 60 years old. During harvest the grapes are hand-picked. Upon fermentation, it is aged for 18 months in new French oak, after which the wine undertakes bottle-aging in the winery to qualify for the reserva status. Less than 200,000 bottles were produced for the 2004 vintage. The wine shows high intensity ruby red colour. In the nose and palate it shows red fruits, plum, earth and tobacco. It is a medium to full bodied wine, well balanced and shows a good structure consisting of ample fruits, tannins, oak and a hint of acid in the finish. 

2005 Chivite Coleccion 125, Reserva (Navarro DO)
This red blend consists of tempranillo (64%), merlot (20%) and cabernet sauvignon (16%) and has been aged in new French oak for 14 months. The colour is deep red; shows aromas and flavours of black fruits, tobacco and cassis; medium to full bodied, slightly brooding in nature, supple and smooth in texture and has a lingering finish. It’s a wine which shows the potential for secondary development with further aging.

I paired the two whites with 3 of the dishes at the table; the Four Delicacies combination (entrée), the Double-boiled shark’s bone soup with fish maw and the Baked cod fish in miso sauce. Though the whites held well against all 3 dishes, I must say they best matched with the baked cod dish.

As for the reds, I tasted all 3 reds with the Braised spare ribs with vinegar dish. For my palate at least, the 2007 Chivite Gran Feudo Edicion, Seleccion Especial (Navarra DO) seemed the best red of the 3 to go with the spare ribs. On its own, without food, the 2005 Chivite Coleccion 125, Reserva (Navarro DO) was the ideal red for the afternoon.