Spain may be a country facing all number of economic problems, but boy does it have some serious winemaking talent.
Our most recent trip, a whirlwind tour that involved many hours behind the wheel, took us from Ossian's sandy, pre-phylloxera vineyards in Rueda, up to the wild west of Ribera del Duero, up and futher across to San Vicente in Rioja and then finally all the way east to Catalonia and the hot, dry hills of Priorat.
En route we encountered breathtaking countryside, big skies and huge vistas, soaring buzzards, warm people, old vines and low yields, plenty of delicious ham and even more delicious wine. In what feels like Hemmingway country there are wines being made that offer such pure, ripe, complex, silky seduction it is amazing they are not more highly sought after over here in the UK market.