We started off with the “Vina El Pison”, a very good 1998 Rioja that is worth every penny, because it was an excellent Rioja year indeed (only to be outdone by a 1995, perhaps…). As amuse bouche to pair with the wine we had the lobster with chickpeas and crispy pork, the asparagus parcels with lemon butter and piquillo pepper mille feuille, as well as a selection of Spanish cheeses. We decided to order two main courses to share and went for the roast suckling pig with crispy orange zest and apple butter and the castilla style roast lamb shoulder with ratatouille. The pig was extremely crispy as was the orange zest, which added a nice “tang” to it. The apple butter was a nice condiment to bring a bit of tartness to this otherwise quite rich meat. The lamb shoulder was so tender, it melted on the tongue. And though I'm not a fan of mixed veggies in a pan, I must say that these were really flavourful and not the usual unsightly mess you get when you order a ratatouille. Unfortunately, we had no more room for dessert, but all in all, full marks for Aqua Nueva!