What runs through a golfer’s mind just after securing the green Champion’s jacket at the conclusion of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club? For 2023 winner Jon Rahm, Unfiltered thinks it was probably food and wine—specifically what the golfer (currently No. 3 in the world) would select for the Champions Dinner the following year.
As the reigning Champion, Rahm was responsible for choosing the menu and paying for the 2024 Masters Club Dinner, an annual event held on the first Tuesday of the tournament to which all former Champions are invited. Honoring Rahm’s native country, the April 9 event’s menu paired Spanish cuisine and wines. But one wine in particular had special significance for Rahm.
“If they let me,” said Rahm in an interview prior to the dinner, “the wine will be this one: Imperial Gran Reserva. It’s a very special story that links me to my grandad.” The Imperial Gran Reserva, a Tempranillo-based blend, is one of the top wines from CVNE (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) in Rioja, only produced in exceptional vintages. Wine Spectator’s editors selected the 2004 vintage (95 points, $63 on release) as Wine of the Year in its Top 100 Wines of 2013.
Imperial Gran Reserva has been a part of many significant events for Rahm’s family, including his own wedding. On that day, Rahm’s grandfather gifted the couple two bottles of the Imperial Gran Reserva 1994 (Rahm’s birth year), embossed with the logo of the Athletic Club de Bilbao in northern Spain, where Rahm’s grandfather was a delegate. “For me that bottle is like having my grandfather’s ashes; every time I see it, I remember him,” said Rahm.
In addition to providing the 2012 CVNE Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva (91, $88 on release) for the Masters Club Dinner, the family-owned wine group also supplied a white Rioja from one of its other properties, the Viñedos del Contino Rioja White 2020.
Founded in 1879 in the heart of Rioja, CVNE winery today encompasses multiple estates in Rioja, as well as wineries in the Spanish regions of Ribera del Duero, Penedés, Valdeorras and Rías Baixas. Víctor Urrutia Ybarra, co-owner of CVNE with his sister María, was thrilled that the family’s wines could be a part of Rahm’s special event, particularly because the two families have known each other for many years.
“We’re really pleased. Spanish wine in the US is still, not exotic, but not everybody knows about it. It’s still something of an insider wine,” said Urrutia. “To be associated with one of the icons of Spain [Jon Rahm] is a huge deal…. To take [the] very best [of Spain], our wine, our cuisine and our people, and to combine them all together into one top event, the most prestigious golfing event. To be there, I cannot think of a higher accolade.”
The 2024 Champions Dinner portrait. #themasters pic.twitter.com/wT5sUChP10
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 10, 2024
What Food Was Served at the 2024 Masters Club Dinner?
Rahm enlisted the help of famed Spanish-born chef and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés to create a menu that reflected the cuisine of northern Spain’s Basque Country. (Andrés previously cooked during the Masters for golfer Sergio García.) The evening started with a selection of tapas and pintxos that included Ibérico ham, Idiazabal cheese, tortilla de patatas, spicy chorizo, creamy chicken fritters and “Mama Rahm's classic lentil stew,” a recipe from the golfer's grandmother.
Dinner began with ensalada de txangurro (a Basque crab salad with potato). For the main course, guests could choose between chuléton a la parrilla (a Basque ribeye with Tudela lettuce and piquillo peppers)—a winning match for the Imperial Gran Reserva—or rodaballo al pil-pil (turbot with white asparagus). The meal was capped off by a dessert that was also served at Rahm’s wedding: milhojas de crema y nata (a puff pastry cake with custard and Chantilly cream.)
How Will 2024 Champion Scottie Scheffler Follow Up?
April 15: Since Scottie Scheffler won the 2024 Masters—his second—he'll be in charge of next year's dinner. What can guests expect? For the 2023 dinner he hosted, the Dallas native went with a Texas theme, serving tortilla soup and a choice of Texas ribeye or blackened redfish with family-style sides of fries, mac and cheese, creamed corn and fried Brussels sprouts. Capping off the meal were warm chocolate chip skillet cookies and ice cream.
For wines, Scheffler went with classic California picks, according to Golf News Net, which reported he chose a 2019 DuMOL Chardonnay and a 2014 Turnbull Cabernet Sauvignon. Maybe for 2025 he'll showcase the wines of Texas?
