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A special tasting of 6 wines chosen by each respective winery in the region was laid on for us at the olive oil fair, where we later also learnt something about the procedure of tasting olive oil.
Tasting notes from olive oil fair
Celler Mallatonga Escorca 2014
(95% Macabeo, 5% Chardonnay) Produced from 50-60-year-old vines, a smooth, elegant wine with fresh, ripe apple, pear and peach with a creamy texture.
Tomàs Cusiné Geol 2012
(Carignan, Garnacha and Merlot) A dense, dark wine with attractive black berry fruit, cherry, plum, chocolate, coffee and a touch of spice. Complex, with soft tannins and a powerful body.
Cérvoles Celler Cérvoles 2012
(Garnacha, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) Bright, attractive cherry and plum fruit and some toast, spiciness and mineral notes, along with some dried herb. Tannins still quite firm. Needs time.
Torres Purgatori 2012
(Carignan, Garnacha, Syrah) Intense fruit aromas of blackberry and blueberry, with a smoky note. Flavours of chocolate and liquorice along with the fresh fruit. Fine grained tannins and fresh acidity
Vinya els Vilars Tallat de lluna 2009
(Syrah) Complex, intense yet elegant wine with notes of stewed black fruits, forest floor, pepper and spice, chocolate and liquorice. Well-structured and full-bodied with a long, lingering finish
Mas Blanche i Jové Saó Expressiu 2007
(70% Garnacha, Tempranillo and Caberent Sauvignon) A beautiful wine still with plenty of bright fruit, with fresh plum and cherry, prune, toast, coffee, earthiness and leather. Full bodied, ripe tannins and a long finish.
Gastronomy and accommodation
Of course, no visit to anywhere would be complete without tasting the local foods. Try the fruity, mild olive oil on pa amb tomata (tomato bread), caragols bullits amb allioli (boiled snails with garlic), caragols a la llauna (grilled snails), hearty Carn di’olla (a one pot full meal, providing a soup with pasta followed by copious quantities of meat and vegetables) and pa de ronyó (kidney bread) typical in all villages in past, now only made in Borges Blanques and Cervià, a kind of large bread roll cooked in the fire, which then ‘explodes’; after it goes hard after a week or so, then they make a soup from it. For something sweet, try the orelletes, a crisp sweet pastry often made at home for festivals. Eat at Els Fogons del Carme in Cervià de Les Garrigues or in Les Borges at Masia Les Garrigues and stay at the rural Garbinada hotel in Granyena de Les Garrigues, a restored palace building dating from the early 20th century.
Things to do
Visit the 4000-year-old Iron Age fort of Els Vilars, with its interesting defence system; take a stroll around the town of Les Borges Blanches, whose main square boasts 40 arcades, all of which are different; visit the olive theme park just outside Les Borges, to see olive presses and paraphernalia from through the ages; and take a look at the Levantine cave art of Roca dels Moros, just outside Cogul, which features human and animal figures, and inscriptions with Iberian and Latin alphabets.
