It is still the depths of winter in La Rioja, we got about 30 to 40 cms of snow today, we are snowed and not going anywhere for at least a day. A good time to catch up on posting and drinking some nice Riojas. It has been cold all week, so a big hearty meal for lunch has been the order of the day. In this part of Spain that usually means a trip to an Asador, or as I discovered yesterday, parrilla full of chuletas (lamb chops) at home, but more on this later. If you’ve ever been to north west Spain you will have seen Asador restaurants all over the place, truck stops, small villages, big towns, everywhere. The basic premise of the Asador is a woodfired oven that is used to cook just about everything in the place.

We were looking for Cabrito Asado, roasted goat, so on the advice of Jose Luis who runs Hotel de Villa de Abalos where we are staying, we made a booking at Meson Chuchi about half an hour away in Fuenmayor. And it didn’t disappoint. There is a much more famous and up market Asador in Fuenmayor, Asador Alameda, that is also excellent for lunch, but that Cabrito at Chuchi is said to be the best around.

One of the great wine and food matches available in La Rioja is Cabrito Asado and a Gran Reserva from La Rioja. In this case we chose Bodegas Muga Prado Enea 2000. While not the best vintage of this wine, it has all the classic characters: pine resin, soft wood notes, plenty of fruit but savoury overall. It was a perfect match with the goat. The wine list here is quite good, lots of options from La Rioja including big name modern wines like Benjmin Romeo and Artadi to classics like Riojanas and C.U.N.E.. The list doesn’t have vintages on it, just ask and they will be more than happy to let you know. When we ordered the Prado Enea 2000, a number of other wines of better vintages (1995 or 2001) where also offered, which is very handy if you don’t know your Rioja vintages.

Of course it would be uncivilised to jump straight to the goat, so some artichokes with jamon and garlic to start with, which were ok, then some excellent Morcilla de Burgos, blood sausage. Then out comes the goat, a whole leg for my plate. A whole head of garlic (which I did eat) and a potato (which I didn’t find room for), thats about it. Needless to say, no dinner for me that night!

I will let the photos do the rest of the talking, needless to say Meson Chuchi is highly recommended. Closed on Wednesday nights and generally for a week in September. Phone: +34 941 450 422 or book at www.mesonchuchi.com