When Menorcan cusine and Penedès wines join hands

Bep Al·lès / Ciutadella – From the very heart of the port of Ciutadella, where the seafaring spirit still beats alive, Cafè Balear has managed to keep intact the essence of what gave birth to it. With its own boat, Rosa Santa Primera, it goes out to sea every morning to return with the best fish and seafood of the Mediterranean, caught just hours before being served. This direct connection with the sea is much more than a guarantee of freshness: it is a way of cooking, a philosophy that respects the product and the origin.

On this special occasion, the restaurant presented a tasting menu paired with a selection of wines from the prestigious Penedès winery Sabaté i Coca, in an evening designed by the manager of the Cafè Balear, Josep Caules Arguimbau, executed by chef Sergio Villalonga and his team, and attended by the owner-director of the guest winery, Marcel Sabaté i Coca, as well as its distributors in Menorca, Comercial Catchot. A tribute to the territory, tradition and honest cuisine, paired with a range of Corpinnats wines and cavas that illustrate the history of Xarel·lo and long aging.

A taste of Menorca with a Penedès accent

The proposal began with a Catalan oyster from Sant Lluís with Imperial Louis caviar, a subtle, elegant and salty starter, paired with the vibrant freshness of the CastellRoig So Blanc 2023.

Next, a red prawn tartare from Ciutadella with Iberian belly, aged Maó cheese and a citrus mayonnaise unfolds a mosaic of flavours and a surprising complexity, highlighted by the CastellRoig Reserva Brut Rosat 2022 with its refined acidity and delicate bubbles, highlighting every nuance.

The tasting continued with a tiradito of red tuna with pipara and spring onion, inspired by Peruvian Nikkei cuisine, finds a perfect harmony and shines with the Corpinnat Mosset Brut Nature 2020, dry and precise.

The carabiner XL from Ciutadella, served simply grilled, pure essence of the sea, shines with the Corpinnat Josep Coca Brut Nature 2018, a wine with body and persistence that highlight the intense flavor of the crustacean.

The XL crayfish, also grilled, maintain the marine theme of the menu and link with the same wine proposal to continue the dialogue between the sea and sparkling wine.

One of the most elaborate dishes comes with the artichoke confit with morels, foie, Iberian ham ground and egg yolk. A dish that balances the earth and gives us an earthy and sophisticated note that the CastellRoig So Seré 2019 accompanies with soft but deep subtlety.

The pig's trotters stuffed with white lobster from Ciutadella - a bold but well-resolved combination - surprised those present, even those who do not declare themselves lovers of pig's feet. Sergio Villalonga's dish was a brave and well-executed fusion, which was linked and paired with a Corpinnat Reserva Familiar Brut Nature 2014, a sparkling wine of great structure and depth that provided structure and elegance. They continued with a Menorcan longline fish, accompanied by Lourdes de Castellroig water and paired with the Terroja 2018, which provided mineral notes and a sober elegance with ripe and mineral notes.

The only meat dish on the menu, a fillet of red veal from Menorca with sobrassada and thigh velouté, was crowned by a magnum of Josep Coca Brut Nature 2015, in an intense and rounded combination. A safe bet with intensity, balance and evolution.

To close, a double dessert: a Catalan crema mousse with mango coulis and a mini chocolate coulant with pistachio ice cream. A sweet culmination that is paired with a subtle and aromatic Corpinnat Reserva Familiar Brut Nature Rosé 2019.

A tribute to authentic flavors

This paired menu is not only an exhibition of technique and balance, but also a manifesto of territory: a sincere dialogue between Menorcan local cuisine and the wine excellence of the Penedès. Cafè Balear and Sabaté i Coca offer us an experience that clearly reflects who they are and where they come from.

A proposal that goes far beyond the palate: a declaration of intentions.