While not a major holiday, President’s Day does afford us the opportunity to relax with family and friends. What better way than to pick up some charcuterie, cheeses, olives and some wine for an impromptu gathering. Paris Madrid Grocery has a wide range of products that make relaxing with friends a pleasure. Spanish, French and Portuguese wines, including Ports and Sherries, as well as the famous dry cured hams from Spain and France (Jambon de Bayonne), Manchego and other cheeses, and a huge selection of canned seafood, all make shopping fun experience. Please stop by and discover the culinary delights of this special part of the world.
New this week!
Rae Dunn French-Inspired Ceramics by Magenta.
Exciting French-themed ceramics for your dining enjoyment! Bring home a cafe au lait mug, fromage plate, petit olive bowl and much more! Designer, Rae Dunn, takes her inspiration from the earth, using simple shapes and natural form to create her beautiful ceramics. We love her French-themed series, each accented with a French phrase or image remniscent of the French lifestyle.
French Latte Mug $15.00
Café au Lait Mug $15.00
Petite Cheese Board $36.00
Baguette Tray & Olive Bowl $45.00
Cheese Board w/ Set of Four Knives $88.00
Wines We Love.
There’s nothing more staisfying that relaxing with family or friends over a meal and conversation, and wine takes it up a notch. I particularly love Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and while not all are created equal, they do vary in price, sufficiently, to make it a luxury wine that can be afforded, if only occasionally. Port is another iconic wine that affords untold pleasure; it’s unique flavors make an indelible impression on first-time drinkers, as well as aficionados. LBV’s are a category created to appeal to a wider audience, and for people that don’t necessarily want to delay gratification for the 10 to 20 years required by a fine vinatge port. One of the world’s true, great dessert wines made more affordable, and this one is worth every penny! It’s always fun to discover new wine regions, or varietals; our third wine comes from the sierra around Madrid, a relatively new and lesser-known appellation, and one that only came into existence in 1990.
2002 Late Bottled Vintage Bottle Matured $27.99
Smith Woodhouse is one of the few producers that makes a Traditional Bottle-Matured Late Bottled Vintage Port (Warre’s is another). The grapes are harvested in the fall and are fermented for a short period of time before the addition of 100% grape spirit alcohol. This step stops fermentation, preserves the wine’s natural grape sugars, and gives it its unique richness. The wine is aged for four years in cask, then bottled unfiltered and aged for a minimum of five more years before its release. This process creates a port wine that comes the closest to the flavor profile and texture of a fine vintage port. The Smith Woodhouse LBV 2002 is already showing excellent bottle age characteristics and is now drinking very well, but as it’s unfiltered, the Smith Woodhouse LVB will continue to evolve if laid down for additional years.
Smith Woodhouse LBV can be enjoyed anytime, and pairs wonderfully with chocolate desserts and strong cheeses like aged Cheddar or creamy blue cheeses like Stilton or Roquefort. Delicious!
“Creamy and rich, with layers of chocolate mousse, dark plum and cherry flavors. Offers minty notes and a suave finish.”
91 points, Wine Spectator.
2014 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” $75.00
Just in, the new vintage of the legendary Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Coming from a challenging vintage, the Brunier family 
managed, as usual, to make a wine that displays finesse and quality.
“One cannot think of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the most celebrated cru of the southern Rhône, without thinking of Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. The Brunier family is legendary in its own right, having been rooted to the enigmatic plateau known as La Crau for over one hundred years. The wines of Vieux Télégraphe evoke the concept of terroir in its purest form: they reflect their dramatic climate, the rough terrain that defines the soil, their full sun exposure at a higher altitude, the typicity of the varietals with an emphasis on Grenache, and of course, the influence of their caretakers, the Brunier family. For many, La Crau is Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s grandest cru.” –Kermit Lynch.
“The flagship 2014 Châteauneuf du Pape is medium-bodied, silky and elegant, with pretty notes of raspberries, crushed rocks, ground herbs and sappy flowers. It plays in the medium-bodied style of the vintage, yet has terrific elegance, as well as a tight, energetic style, fine tannin and impeccable balance. Drink it anytime over the coming decade or so.”
91 points, Wine Advocate.
Bernabeleva ‘Navaherreros Garnacha de Bernabeleva’ Vinos de Madrid $23.99
In 1923, Dr Vicente Álvarez-Villamil bought Bernabeleva, an estate in San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Madrid). It is located at the foot of the Cerro de Guisando and the Gredos mountains. For decades, Dr Álvarez-Villamil’s descendants have lovingly tended the old vines he planted, with the intention of someday producing quality wines. That vision is now a reality.
Navaherrerros Garnacha is made from grapes from multiple vineyards that comprise the estate. Through varying soils, orientation and microclimates, the wine expresses San Martin de Valdeiglesias’ terroir. The age of the vines range from 40 to 80 years. The vineyards are manually harvested. Vinification takes place in wood, stainless steel or concrete tanks, depending on the characteristics of the grapes; each site is vinified and aged separately. The wine is then bottled without fining or filtering. The minimal oak influence means that purity and red berry freshness take the lead. Wild, bright, bold perfume of sweet berry fruit and spice, faint herbs, graphite, sea spray and Chinese five spice. The palate is silky but builds a fine web of lacy tannins overlaid on that fresh fruitiness. Fine, precise feel through to a very, very long, puckering, minerally finish.
Queijo São Miguel From The Azores
Given the relatively small area comprised by the nine islands which form the Azores, this 
region produces a surprising number of cheeses: São Jorge, Beira, Ilha Branca, Vaquinha, and São Miguel are some of the better known names. My personal favorite is São Miguel; I love the tangy bite that the cheeses possess on the finish. I’ve come late to Portuguese cheeses, having only really discovered them working at the Spanish Table and now, at the Paris Madrid Grocery, and this despite having spent time in Portugal; go figure!
Cheese began to be produced in the Azores as soon as the first settlers arrived in the mid 15th century, owing to the climate and soil conditions that make for excellent pastures. Situated in the middle of the Atlantic Gulf Stream, the Azores has a mild, damp climate and, due to its volcanic geology, a rich fertile soil that supports abundant vegetation – hence its beautiful meadows of tall grass that offer perfect conditions for breeding more 20,000 dairy cows producing the top-quality milk that goes into the production of its cheeses, of which 3 types have are DOP certified: “São Jorge”, “São Miguel” and “Old São Miguel”. São Miguel comes from the green island of São Miguel, the largest and most populated of the archipelago; the cheese is DOP certified, and aged for nine months, giving it an intense and spicy flavor, akin to a quality Parmesan, and one that gets even better when aged. Displaying a honeyed color and smooth. soft texture, this cheese is at its best when consumed at room temperature. Aversatile cheese, São Miguel pairs extremely well with salads, eggs, and pasta, or just with a slice of good, rustic bread. A perfect compliment to a glass of Port, Madeira, and a number of dry, red wines.
Have a great Presiden’t Day weekend; enjoy!