Iron Chef at Flemings

We did it again. We went to another Flemings wine dinner. As expected, it was fabulous. Last nights was an in-house "Iron Chef" competition. It was the Head Chef versus the Sou Chef. It was extra wonderful because we got 2 of everything.
The first course was the appetizer. One chef prepared a red and yellow grape tomato, onion and shrimp skewer. It was excellent, very tasty and flavorful. The other prepared the best bruschetta I've ever had - Roma tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil with an olive oil drizzle. I don't know why it was so good, aren't those the general ingredients for all bruschetta? But whatever it was that made it so tasty, it sure worked.
All the wines for the evening were Spanish and this course was complemented with a 2009 Bedegas La Cana, Albarino Rias Baixax. In a nutshell, this wine is very similar to a Sauvignon Blanc. It was ok, nothing outstanding.
The second course was a roasted vegetable soup with a baked brie crostini. With the other chef preparing mixed greens, gala apples, and candied walnuts with a lemon vinaigrette dressing. This was complimented with an absolutely beautiful wine. A 2009 Palacios-remondo, Rioja la Vendimia. A lovely medium bodied, soft red wine with gentle berry notes. This is a very nice, stand alone wine. I will definitely purchase this one for the wine rack. The wine manager said it retails for abut $25.
The main entree was duck. I didn't think I liked duck, but I guess I do. One chef baked it with a maple/mustard glaze and sides of spaghetti squash and fried squash blossoms. The other chef pan seared it with saffron risotto topped with a blueberry port wine reduction. The wine served with this course was a 2006 Vall Llach Priorat Embriux.
This wine craves food (I got that line from Dennis at Fabbioli), meaning it should be served with food. It's not a stand alone. However, it was excellent with the duck. Duck is a gamey, fatty bird and the abrasiveness of the wine just went with it perfectly. It was very dark colored, earthy tasting, and rough on the tongue. But again, the duck and wine just went well together.
The final course was dessert. It was a chocolate crepe with pineapple brandy filling and a pineapple creme brule with chantilly cream serviced with Segura Viudas Brut Cava.
I typically love Segura Viudas. It's a great Cava or sparkling wine. But last night, I just wasn't loving it. I think it was because I had just had too much of everything. It was time to have a nice sip of coffee and head home. Which is what we did.
What a wonderful night!!!