The Booze Blog Portal - Alcohol, Bars, Malaysia and Beyond.

07 April 2018

A tapas trail with Campo Viejo wines

In an introduction of Campo Viejo to Malaysia, Pernod Ricard took us on a tapas trail right in the heart of Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL.

There's no other to enjoy drinking a Spanish wine the Spanish way, than to be on a tapas trail on a (always) summer Spanish  Malaysian weather. We were taken to Pisco Bar, El Cerdo and Havana Bar and Grill, where all were Spanish themed or influenced.

The wine and tapas trail was led by Darcy Wilkosz,
Wine Ambassador for global spirits and wine leader Pernod Ricard Winemakers
Campo Viejo wines hails from the Rioja region of the Rioja winery situated in the Ebro valley, north of Spain. Hosting us that evening was Pernod Ricard wine ambassador, Darcy Wilkosz.

Our trail started at Pisco Bar with a smorgasbord of charcoal grilled bone in rib steak. Here, the first of the series of three wines, Campo Viejo Tempranillo was paired with the scrumptious meats served.


I immediately took a liking to the first sip. On the nose, I had rich and deep aromas of dark fruits and on the palate came rich overripe grapes.

Half a bottle later, the second stop was a short 100m walk to El Cerdo’s. Famed for their porcine dishes, we had the Campo Viejo Reserva to go with a mushroom and escargo brioche and a chorizo slider.


The nose of the reserva was more intense and with more flavours coming through compared to the Tempranillo. If the former had dark fruits, the Reserva reminded me of preserved fruits. The Reserva had a nice balance of fruit and oak as it was matured for 18 months in American and French oak casks with an additional 18 more months aging in a bottle before being shipped off.

Lastly we finished off our trail at Havana’s bar and grill , up the road with the a light tapas offering of Spanish meatballs and the pairing with the campo Viejo Grand Reserva.


The grand reserva had all the signature nose and palate of the Reserva BUT with light tannin and a complex aftertaste of coffee, tobacco and chocolates. If you let it sit on the palate even longer, some hints of salty bacon comes through, but that could be from all the meat I had before that. I would want to savor this slowly. Aged for a minimum of 5 years, it spends 24 months in a mix of American and French oak casks with another 24 more months rounding in the bottle.

You can also hope on the tapas trail experience soon. For more information, visit www.campoviejo.com/cvtapastrail

Salud! ...and drink responsibly

- Jon

(Images from Pernod Ricard Malaysia)