One of our favourite hotels anywhere is Tambour del Llano – Drums of the Plain – located in the glorious Grazalema National Park. This is a truly amazing place to relax. It’s under 100km from the beaches of the Costa del Sol, and yet it feels a world away, tucked in the Sierra Grazalema mountains and close to the most beautiful Pueblo Blanco (a page on walks in this region coming shortly).
The first time we visited we arrived after dark. Having driven down a gravel road, turned in through some gates and down a narrow track winding through the cork oaks, we wondered where on earth we were going. Well, you have arrived at a little piece of paradise!
The hotel is a converted farm building – part old part modern – and it fits perfectly in with the national park environment. If you follow the link to the hotel above you can see the kind of accommodation.
The atmosphere is truly relaxed and the perfect end to a long day walking is to chill out on the lovely terrace with a Gin & Tonic from the honesty-bar, taking in the beautiful views, accompanied by the friendly hotel dogs.
The food is fantastic and we love the “this is what we are cooking tonight” approach: organic and local – often from their own land. And the wines are also local and delicious.
We chose the house wine and were amazed when the bottle was presented and, on the label, was an exact representation of the Uffington White Horse, a stunning Bronze-Age depiction of a running horse carved into the chalk downs a bit north of where we live in Wiltshire.
Nano – fantastic horseman, charming guide, and excellent waiter (they all multi-task here) – was so fascinated that much googling followed to show what the Uffington Horse looked like.
Luckily the wine lived up to the lively debate about the label. Brabazul is a wine from Bodega Huerta de Albala which is near Arcos de la Frontera . It is about 40km east of Grazalema in the foothills of the Sierra as you head towards Jerez and Cadiz. Founded in 2001 by Vincente Taberner, they have two ranges of wine, the Brabazul – a more everyday drinking wine (€8-12 / bottle from the vinyard) and the high-end Taberners (with prices ranging from €25 – 135 / bottle).
Brabazul red is a blend of Tintilla de Rota, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a well balanced, fresh and fruity wine that goes very well with grilled meats and vegatables, cheeses and the like, or just as a lovely drinking wine.
We used to buy cases from a Spanish supplier who would ship in crash-proof boxes however, post-Brexit that’s not been an option. However, we now get it through Decantalo who ship a range of Spanish wines and are very efficient. The regular Brabazul is £11.49/bottle in January 2023, and the Special Selection is £15.34. Good value for a delightful wine.