Taste the Old World

Not nearly as crazy in love with wine as I am today, the last time I was in Barcelona, it didn't even cross my mind to look for wine tours. Little did I know, there are plenty wineries within an hour of Barcelona.  

It was the last day of my trip, so I was either going to spend the afternoon going inside La Sagrada Familia or doing a wine tour. Quite instantly, I knew it was the latter that gives me the experience I was looking for. Slightly off the beaten path. 

I don't really have a favorite region for wine. Undoubtedly many newly discovered soils can produce heavenly grapes, but when it comes to wine production, there is a certain charm coming from the Old World. The vines have aged throughout the decades or even centuries and the appreciation of great wine passed on generations after generations. I've been to several wineries in Napa, Willamette valley and Niagara Falls so far, exposed myself to the exciting potentials of New World regions. Then here I am, at the castle Oller del Mas, ready for my first Old World winery tour. 

Away from the noise, lights, buildings and people in Barcelona, we found ourselves in the Catalan countryside. We passed by the serrated mountain of Montserrat, to a 400 hectare estate of Oller del Mas.

This medieval castle is now around 1000 years old, but with careful renovation, it feels like time has paused here. 

With the original architecture and this beautiful courtyard where the sunlight shines through over a millennium.

Today, the estate is decorated with modern yet rustic artwork.

As we learned about the estate, the wine production resumed in early 2000s with organic vines planted around 20 years before, since the Catalan wine production region suffered a plague a century ago that destroyed many vineyards.

Continuing the tradition, but with modern equipments and tighter control over hygiene than centuries ago, these wines were divine. 

With local cheese and crackers, we tasted the 3 wines in a stone chamber that used to be a fermentation tank. Maybe this is how time passes by and not leave a trace on this estate, I could easily spend hours in that room just enjoying the wines. 

Moreover, we were fortunate enough to try some Picapoll Negre, a full bodied red wine made from grapes that were once thought extinct after the plague. Today, it is only grown on this estate, no where else in the world.

As the setting sun reminds us that all journeys come to an end, an unforgettable one passes by even faster. We slowly move onto exiting the estate. It must be the golden hour that puts a glow onto these vineyards that won my heart. 

The Old World, how charming you must be.