IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, LOCAL WINES WERE MADE FOR ANIMALÓN’S SOPES DE TUÉTANO
by Michelle M. Metter
In the Valle de Guadalupe, just one hour from the Mexico-U.S. border, chef Javier Plascencia has carefully curated a spectacular dining experience inspired by the flavors of Baja California and the Mediterranean. Unfolding beneath a 200-year-old oak tree, service at Animalón involves an ever-evolving menu and up-and-coming wines from throughout the region as the restaurant hosts an ongoing series of chef collaborations and pop-ups.
Born in Tijuana, Plascencia is known for his down-to-earth charisma and his persistent search for new flavors. In addition to Animalón, he has opened a string of successful restaurants across Baja California, including Lupe, Caffé Saverious, Finca Altozano, and Jazamango, and is also the author of a cookbook titled The Soul of Baja.
To make his rendition of sopes de tuétano, Plascencia tops small sopes of fried masa with roasted bone marrow and shrimp as well as aromatic vegetables and herbs reduced with red wine and bay leaves, adding a twist to the classic dish. The sopes are then served alongside a selection of hot sauces, grain salt, fried parsley, and bone marrow pan gravy.
For pairing, Plascencia’s daughter, sommelier Lauren Plascencia, suggests a blend of Grenache, Merlot, Malbec, Mourvèdre, and Cabernet Sauvignon from Valle de Guadalupe winery Bruma, which was founded in 2017 and produces roughly 3,000 cases per year. “The Bruma 2019 Plan B Red Blend is a ruby color with purple hues; [it has an] expressive and persistent nose, with subtle notes of fresh cherry, [blood] orange, vanilla, sweet tobacco, rosemary, cedar, and hints of eucalyptus; a silky but frank attack; [and] a broad and long mid-palate,” she says. “The fat and richness from the bone marrow stacks up well against the wine’s persistent tannins and permanence in the mouth from beginning to end.”
For an alternate perspective, we asked Fernando Gaxiola, sommelier and proprietor at Baja Wine + Food in San Diego, California, for his selection. “Despite [Chef Plascencia’s] notoriety, he is approachable, so the wine needs to have the same refined but approachable balance. I selected the Paoloni 2018 Sangiovese Grosso, which . . . is the only Mexican Brunello in the world,” he says. “On the nose you’ll find floral, red fruit, cherry, and vanilla aromas. [It’s] powerful but gentle on the palate, with silky tannins, great acidity, and a long finish. . . . This is a complex yet very elegant wine in perfect harmony with the creamy and fatty bone marrow—a velvet explosion of flavor!” Founded in 1997, the winery professes to make “Mexican wines with Italian heart,” as its founding family has roots in Le Marche, near Tuscany.
Michelle Metter is a San Diego–based writer and event producer; contact her @michellemettersd on Instagram or via email at metter@fastforwardevents.
