Spain’s single estates in pictures

db was lucky enough to be invited to Spain earlier this month by the Grandes Pagos de España to visit some of the wineries within its group.

Founded in 2000, the Grandes Pagos de España is formed of 29 single estate wineries that share the common goal of shining a light on the country’s best terroirs and the unique, characterful wines that come out of them. Our trip began in Madrid with a tasting of wines from all 29 estates followed by dinner at a trendy new Michelin-starred restaurant called Cabra, run by chef Javier Aranda, which boasted experimental cuisine and colourful artwork.

Before dinner, we enjoyed a glass of Chivite Las Fincas Rosado 2015, a rosé made specifically for Julian Chivite’s good friend, chef Juan Mari Arzak of the three Michelin-starred restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian and its little sister restaurant Ametsa in London.

The next morning we took the train to Navarra to Arínzano, which, in addition to being part of the Grandes Pagos, is also one of Spain’s 16 Vino de Pago estates with its own DO. We were met by Manuel Louzada, the former winemaker of Numanthia in Toro, who was recently hired to fine tune the wines at the estate.

The estate grows Tempranillo, Merlot and Chardonnay, among other varieties, and only makes wine from its own grapes.

During the visit, Louzada spoke of the importance of terroir, and the need for Spain to tell the terroir story. “Terroir is the only thing that makes a wine unique. The future of Spanish wine lies in a terroir approach. If you rely on ageing and winemaking you’ve got a problem, otherwise everyone would be able to make a Petrus or a Cheval Blanc,” he said.

During lunch the sun shone over the historical Arínzano estate, which has just opened a small guest house for wine loving tourists.

A tangle of trees in Navarra

Back in Madrid, we had lunch at the city’s grandest wine shop, Lavinia, which gives London’s Hedonism serious competition in the fine wine stakes.

The next day we took the train to Spain’s other major city, Barcelona, where we struck upon a funky new wine bar called Brutal that reminded us of Sager & Wilde, though the wines at Brutal were largely natural, organic and biodynamic, with a strong focus on Spanish drops.

Raging bull

Bar Brutal takes its food as seriously as its wine, meaning delightful sharing plates like gooey burrata with salmon roe…

… and smoky octopus

Another day, another wine adventure – this time to Can Rafols in the village of Massis del Garraf in Penedès, where we were shown around by our trusty guide Miquel Terrado, area manager for the Caus Group.

Carlos Esteva, owner of Can Rafols, has been fighting for a decade with the Consejo Regulador in Penedès to get the village of Massis del Garraf officially recognised so that he can legally put it on the front labels of his wines.

Rosa María Aguado, director of the estate, is also passionate about flagging up Spain’s unique terroirs, and is keen to emulate the Burgundian system of classifying the different villages. “In France they know the difference between Côte-Rôtie and Châteauneuf, it’s crazy that we don’t take this approach in Spain,” she says.

Can Rafols’ trusty pooch proved a fantastic tour guide

A die-hard James Bond fan, Carlos has spent the last 14 years building a winery from within a cliff, which boasts a suitably Bond-like stone door

The winery is due for completion this year, and the estate plans to host a huge party to celebrate.

A keen art lover as well as a wine lover, Carlos has commissioned Spanish artist Kiko Ruiz to paint a series of sprawling canvases to hang in the winery. Among them is one representing grapes during the fermentation process (pictured)…

We’re not sure what this arresting orange work represents, but we like it!

Rosa enlisted the help of Paula Aguilar from Grandes Pagos and wine write Adam Lechmere to try to move a giant boulder sculpture on site.

The main building within Can Rafols dates back to the 17th century and features a Tudor-like oven with a heart motif.

… and some impressive tile work

Our final stop of the trip was to the jewel in Cava’s crown, Gramona, where we were shown around by the lovely Ana Lopez, who both makes wine and looks after exports for the estate, which has recently converted to biodynamics at a considerable cost to get the best out of its land.

While many Cavas spend only a limited time in bottle, Gramona’s expressions spend an extended time on their lees, with the top drops aged for up to a decade before release, leading to rich autolytic notes of butter, biscuit and brioche. The estate uses a licor de expedición from a solera system.

Before leaving, we were treated to a tutored tasting with Javier Gramona, who is passionate about the idea for a new quality tier for Cava’s top producers, “Cava del Paraje Calificada”, that recognises single estate Cavas and their terroirs.