Tierra y Vino: Chef Bruno Coelho surprises diners with culinary delights that combine Basque and French gastronomy
Tierra y Vino: Chef Bruno Coelho surprises diners with culinary delights that combine Basque and French gastronomy
Cantharellus with truffled egg; braised turbot with seaweed béarnaise; wild boar, morels, and celeriac; pear and kefir. Roots, sea, land, and results. These are the creations of chef Bruno Coelho, who has designed for the Tierra y Vino Restaurant a menu that draws on the entire repertoire of the surrounding area, articulated around a careful selection of dishes and a tasting menu that changes each season, with a special take on Iberian and Basque specialties using a French technique.
Located in the heart of the Rioja Alavesa region, in the Palacio de Samaniego Hotel owned by the Rothschild family, the Tierra y Vino Restaurant has its own garden with vegetables and aromatic plants that diners can visit before entering Coelho’s culinary universe. Once inside the palace, it is worth noting the exquisite interior decoration of the dining rooms, which harmoniously combine the building’s original stone structure from the eighteenth century with designer furniture and works of art brought from all over the world: a collection of vases of different styles and periods (with a large presence of ceramic art and Murano glass), indigenous accessories, sculpture paintings made in paper and aluminum, and recycled wood tables (with a patchwork design) custom created by French cabinetmaker Mathisse Dalstein. The interior architecture of the palace, the work of LVG Arquitectura and Vila Studio, overcomes the dual challenge of minimizing ecological impact –placing priority on untreated raw materials and natural fibers– and of finding the right balance between cozy minimalism and pleasant comfort.
One of the restaurant’s great treasures can be seen from the dining room: the wine cellar. Here rest –in addition to the flagships of the most recognized vineyards in the world– important labels from wineries owned by the Rothschild family: Château Clarke, Château des Laurets, Château de Malengin, Barons de Rothschild Champagne, and Château Malmaison, of France; Flechas de los Andes, of Argentina; Rimapere and Akarua, of New Zealand; Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons, of South Africa; and, of course, Macán, of the Rioja Alavesa region. The latter label, situated just a few minutes from the restaurant, came into existence in 2004 as a result of a partnership between Tempos Vega Sicilia and the Baron Edmond de Rothschild Wine Company, offering a modern and unique take on wines from the Rioja region by following the Bordeaux model of first-growth and second-growth wines.
Orchestrating the dining room and wine cellar are Miren Ormazabal and her team, who guide diners with very personal service so that their enological and culinary adventure becomes a true experience. That closeness with which they welcome their customers while maintaining the highest of standards in terms of their service is what characterizes this palace and makes it a kind of family home. Its nine rooms and suites, which are named after wine grape varieties (Tempranillo, Syrah, Malvasia, Verdejo, Viura, Bobal, Garnacha, Merlot, Chardonnay), exude an intimate atmosphere that invites one to rest, talk, and have a glass of wine while taking in all the art, gastronomy, and history. There is a quote by Coelho (not the chef, but the writer Paulo Coelho) that could well serve to verbalize what Tierra y Vino and the Palacio de Samaniego transmit: “There is a language in the world that everyone understands: the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.”
Tierra y Vino
Calle Constitución 12, Samaniego.
Tel.: +34 945 660 000
