El Celler de can Roca - Girone (Shortened Version)

To begin, scene-setting glasses of perfectly chilled Albet  Noya Cava, fun to drink and bubbling with a special Spanish frivolity,  Caramalised Olives hanging from a live bonsai-sized olive tree and  tiny, sculptured Mushrooms Bombon   bombarding the palate with ‘smashing’ explosions of  tingling flavour.
 Minutes later  Veuve Clicquot  to cope with the  welcome sting of Anchovy Bones, Ring Calamar Adaptation, Green Salad and St George’s Mushroom Truffled Brioche.  Delicate plates of passion offering glimpses of a  masterful,  grand cuisine.
 A  2003 Renard Valmur  Chablis, a 2008 Stephane Tissot Savagnin  Arbois, Cherries, Elderberry & Smoked Eel, succulent, ethereal, everlasting….
Then the Charcoal-Grilled King Prawn with Acidulated Mushroom Juice materialised. In tender repose but with the mantle of unmistakable dignity the solitary decapod crustacean patiently awaited its final journey, carried off in an aromatic bath – a 2009 Nelin  from Priorat. Another magnificent Roca Brother’s match.
We boldly toasted our good fortune with a  Vina Tondonia Rosado from Rioja, a  worthy blend of Tempranillo, Garnacho and Viura. The  Onion Soup, Crespia Wans and Comte Cheese was love at first sight holding us paralysed with delight.   The  Sole, Olive Oil and Mediterranean Flavours proffered  a sensuous necklace of five sauces each jostling for prominence, and a perfectly grilled fillet of fish. Unsurpassed excellence.
A sweet and luscious interlude with the Oloroso del Puerto Almacenista was a fitting fanfaronade  to a frothy, smoky bath of Baby Squid with Onion rocks and Catalan Seafood Stew. Behold the Spiritus sanctus!
The ‘piece-de-resistance’ just had to be Joan Roca’s careful and composed, strikingly imaginative Steak Tartare with Mustard Ice Cream. A Santa’s sleigh of gastronomic  terroir, impeccably adorned with  droplets  of  mustard ice cream, mustard leaves, smoked paprika, curry, pickles, lemon and more. There were no dramatic heavenly thunderclaps or bolts of lightning striking the tines of my fork as I savoured every moment of this Bugatti Veyron experience,  but the earth moved for me.
Joan’s Lamb with Peach Terrine scored top points for style, taste, and a beautiful sense of composure. Accompanied by a smooth glass of Anima Negra  from Mallorca with its dark, ruby colour, rich cherry nuances and strong finish, the lamb, with its beautiful accompaniments was worthy of the highest praise. In the same pasture as the ovine came Green Colourology a polka dot collage of delicious, globulous verdancies and gelatinous translucences  embodied in eucalyptus ice cream. Pure art.
A chilled  Grans Fassian Kabinett  rolled in the grass merrily  with the elegant and suave Lemon Distillated Sorbet, quickly pursued by an Emrich-Schlonleber Halenberg Spatlese  and  Vanilla, Caramel, Liquorice, Dried and Caramelised Black Olives, a ‘rough’ filigree-topped dessert of robust definition and skillfully jumbled  taste sensations.
Mi sincero da las gracias y la gratitud a los hermanos de Roca para una excelente tarde de cenar de multa y servicio impeccable – Mr Lu