We recently had the privilege of meeting Chef Javier Luariz-Ayerdi during a visit to this new and exciting Winery/Château Hotel during a scouting trip to Navarra. Javier, a Basque American, born in Miami, is a disciple of Michelin-starred chef Juan Mari Arzak. Chef Luariz honed his skills at the 5-star Gran Hotel Son Net (Relais & Châteaux) in Palma de Mallorca before his appointment as the executive chef at this handsome property in the south of Navarra. The Pago is located in La Ribera, Navarra’s “bread and vegetable basket”, adjacent to the Bardenas Reales Nature Park. The Bardenas Reales, a semi-dessert landscape stretching over 42,000 hectares, might look familiar to James Bond fans, as it doubled for Kazakhstan in the Bond film “The World is Not Enough”. An area of extraordinary beauty, the Bardenas Reales landscape, with its rocky formations, takes on a moon-like appearance with its craters, gullies and solitary outcrops formed over millions of years by erosion.
The Château consists of a tower built of old ashlar stones, in the style of a 14th century fortress, sitting above a sea of some 200 hectares of vineyards, along with a state-of-the-art winery supervised by one of Europe’s most renowned oenologists. This unique property offers total relaxation, breathtaking views, gorgeous sunsets plus cinematic entertainment. The ambitious project of visionary film producer and wine maker Iñaki Núñez, this exquisite retreat provides its guests with a 400-volume film library and a cozy 30-seat cinema where they can watch movies of their choice on demand, plus a wine tasting laboratory where wine connoisseurs can sample the estate’s several grape varietals-Chardonnay, Muscatel, Tempranillo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The hotel’s dramatic décor is evocative of a lavish movie set-a romantic’s fantasy-like spending the night in an enchanted castle. The dozen guest quarters, distributed among the 4 floors of the stone tower, have been lovingly decorated with the finest of fabrics and furnishings. In-room amenities include a 37-inch High Definition Oki TV, Bang and Olufsen phones, DVD players, complimentary Wi-Fi, flasks of aged Scotch and rum, and of course, copies of Wine Spectator.
The equally stunning restaurant, “Senda de los Olivos”, which is separated by the winery’s barrel cellar by an enormous glass wall, serves the finest regional produce from La Ribera (delectable local asparagus, artichokes, wild mushrooms), delicately prepared and finished off with the estate’s own arbequina olive and white truffle oils. Chef Luaritz also creates delectable desserts, such as a fondant of hot chocolate with passion fruit ice cream. After their repast, diners are invited to enjoy coffee and a digestif of the wineries own muscatel on the veranda overlooking the pool and Tuscan style garden. Both the Pago’s award-winning wines and artisan oils are available for purchase.
The restaurant has received numerous accolades from Spain’s gourmet press and is sure to receive recognition soon in the prestigious Michelin Red Guide. After only two years of production, the estate’s wines, overseen by French oenologist Jean Marc Sauboua of Bordeaux’s Château Haut-Brion, have garnered six gold medals in international competitions. A Pago de Cirsus label was chosen as one of the 103 best Spanish wines in the UK’s New Wave Spanish Wine 2006 Awards.
To our mind the Château Hotel Pago de Cirsus is one of the most spectacular new hotel–restaurants on Spain’s burgeoning wine tourism circuit.
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