Our final European tour of 2025 has commenced and we got off to a flying start. Despite events conspiring to cause possible delays (general strike in Barcelona, new EU fingerprint rules, air traffic control issues) we left Barcelona airport ahead of schedule and arrived early for lunch.
Our lunch venue was the top class Vilagut restaurant in the historic town of Vilafranca del Penedès. We discovered that since we were last there, they have been awarded a Michelin Star!
And what a meal! Their sommelier hosted an amazing wine pairing lunch that took us through a superb selection of Penedes accompanied by the most delicious food. All sorts of masterful creations that would be impossible to create at home were presented to us over three hours. A magnificent start to the tour.
From Vilagut, we headed just 15 minutes to Cava Rovellats, a small family owned bodega specialising in top class Cava. Jeff hosted our visit with great humour and detail and showed us the old chapel before manually disgorging a couple of bottles down in the cellar for us to taste. We then headed back upstairs for four different excellent cavas paired with cheese – because everyone was hungry again!
Top class sparkling wines, great cheeses and altogether a whirlwind but very satisfying start to the tour.
And then it was back on the coach and a short journey to the coast to check into our hotel in Altafulla, from where we will be departing for a day in Priorat.