Monthly wine guide: Dawn's Spanish adventure

— 31 July 2012

In this month's wine guide, our head Sommelier Dawn Davies takes a trip to discover the beautiful wineries of Spain.

Castell d’Encus
We departed London on a dreary, wet morning in June only to land in Spain an hour and a half later in glorious sunshine and began our long drive to Costers del Segre, four hours west of Barcelona.

We arrived late afternoon, due to a slight ‘tom tom’ issue which involved a dirt track and a mountain, at Castell d’Encus. This winery is the baby of Raul Bobet who spent 15 years with Torres. He is a fascinating man who loves to experiment. The winery is set high in the hills overlooking the valley, the scent of lavender and beautiful butterflies surround you as soon as you set foot on the property. The land was part of an old monastery and the monks there used to ferment their wines in the wells they build into the rocks. Raul still does this with a portion of the wines today. His wines are vibrant and exciting, from the off dry Ekam Riesling to the savoury, spicy, delicious Tharlan Shiraz.

The next morning, another early start after a slightly late night, we headed south west into Priorat. This is the only other DOCa’s in Spain besides Rioja. As the doors of the car opens you are hit by the intense heat and sound of cicadas. Here the vines cling to the side of the steep slopes, their roots reaching deep down into the llicorella soil. Grenache and Carignan are the kings of this rugged landscape producing wines of power and intensity. We were visiting Ferrer-Bobet, another of Raul’s projects. In complete contrast to his winery in Costers del Segre, this winery is a temple to modernity. The wines are slick but still have real character, heavily perfumed fruit and silky concentrated tannins.

After a well deserved lunch we drove to near by Montsant to Mas del Portal, the building was an old cooperative which is slowly being lovingly restored by architect Alfredo Arribas. On the outside the winery appears small and unassuming, but inside is a myriad of small rooms filled to the brim with oak barrels and old wine tanks. The vineyards are littered with old vines, some more then 100 years old supported by bricks and vineyard debris. The wines themselves are more rustic in style but with lots of bright, attractive fruit and earthy spices.

As the sun set on our last day and we sat by the sea eating dinner, I did have to think to myself that possibly I have the best job in the world.

- Dawn Davies, Selfridges' Head Sommelier

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WINES OF THE MONTH

This month we have plenty of great offers including:

We have gone rose mad this month with a selection of our favourite champagnes at 20% including Laurent Perrier, Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger, Moet, Ruinart, Gosset and Louis Roederer.

Wine wise we have 20% off on Cloudy Bay Sauvingon Blanc, Nostros Pinot Noir and Drink Me white and red.

To celebrate the girls, Pinky Vodka is also on offer at 20% off .