Wine club The Library by The Paraguas Group has just opened its doors in the most exclusive area of ​​Madrid, right where the Plaza de la Independencia and Calle Serrano meet and is destined to be the ‘place to be’ for the most demanding wine lovers.

“We have always given a lot of prominence to wine in all our establishments and this is one more step” says Sandro Silva, co-founder, together with his wife, Marta Seco, of Grupo Paraguas, who is behind the most anticipated wine lovers’ opening of the year, The Library, which opens its doors at number 2 Calle Serrano, not far from where other establishments of this restaurant conglomerate frequented by the ‘beautiful people’ of Madrid are located.

Seco confessed her skepticism to Silva when she proposed the project, an idea that has taken years to materialize and precedes the long-awaited opening of Metrópolis, the hotel and bonvivant space, rooftop included, which will open in 2025 at the confluence of Madrid’s Gran Vía and Alcalá.

“Little by little, I was infected by the enthusiasm and desire to contribute to this city that has always given us so much,” adds the Asturian businesswoman. The fact is that, from the idea, it became reality and The Library is a unique space in the world, a wine temple where the private club (in the style of select spaces such as London’s 67Pall Mall), a gastronomic corner with a kitchen conceived around wine and a boutique, as its founders call it, where the Bacchic liquid takes center stage, come together.

“The first time you enter the establishment, you are introduced to a spacious, bright, golden and welcoming space, where what surprises you as soon as you walk through the door are the very high ceilings, a very unique feature“, explains Silva, “since there are not many buildings of this type in the capital. That is why the height makes the difference and defines the space almost like a library (hence its name), where you can immerse yourself in liquid literature as much as you want (or your pocket allows).”

 

Hundreds of bottles of cult wines, champagnes from great houses and labels sought after by the most enthusiastic wine lovers dazzle, which coexist with a decoration designed by Lázaro Rosa Violán, in which vintage columns in the shape of goddesses attract attention, giving a solemn tone and classic elegance to the establishment.

One of the particularities of The Library is its dimension as a private club where exclusivity is taken to its maximum exponent. Only ninety members will belong to The Library Wine Society; to be one of them it is necessary to pay a membership fee of 6,000 euros, and commit to annually buying wines worth 20,000. In exchange, a private space in the lower part of the premises, especially cozy, with a fireplace and the appearance of an English club where the members (who already reach 60 despite having opened on Friday 26 September; by the way, most of them are men) can uncork their treasures or buy bottles of wine and premium spirits to drink with whoever they like.

The club offers a storage service, with refrigerated cellars where each member can store up to 80 bottles, and have them on hand to celebrate their moments. In addition, membership allows access to quotas of cult wines, great châteaux or labels and vintages that are difficult to find in regular markets, and at special prices for them, or en primeur purchases that give access to bottles almost at the same time as professionals. Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux, Tuscany, Piedmont and labels of the most sought-after Spanish wines (for example, the coveted Ygay from 1986, the first Spanish dry white wine to be rated 100 in The Wine Advocate reports).

For the rest of us, The Library is the ground floor, where the recreational option around wine has nothing to envy of the great wine temples of cities such as London or New York. Taking advantage of the group’s wine know-how, in the wine bar you can drink up to 80 wines by the glass, but also buy full bottles from almost anywhere in the world, from California to New Zealand, via Chile, Germany or Jerez. To accompany this, Iberian hams cut by expert hands, high-end Spanish preserves, renowned foie gras and a corner of artisan cheeses that can make your mouth water. 

Another of the wine lover’s delights of The Library is that there is also a menu… of glasses, an irresistible twist if what you like is to tinker with those glasses, their shapes and thicknesses, and explore the movement and touch of each one when you have it in your hands. From Riedel to Josephine, each wine can have its recommendation or you can choose the glass you like the most.

If you are not a seasoned consumer but are curious, don’t panic, because there is a magnificent team of sommeliers (those who don’t let your glass go empty and you get thirsty, but they serve you almost without you realising it) ready to make your experience fuss-free, the kind that sometimes comes when you have to choose between many references and you don’t know if the move is going to work out well or badly… well, transfer the risk to the professional and that’s it, because at Paraguas they know a thing or two about that, since they have a real army of professional sommeliers ready to collaborate.

The gastronomic proposal, apart from the cold snacks, is run by Ricardo Álvarez (formerly of Huerta de Carabaña), who conceives dishes with wine in mind, and it is that “enjoying a selection of exceptional Grands Crus is a privilege, but for me it is essential to feel that the culinary proposal is up to par,” says Silva, an unrepentant wine lover.

The Library is, therefore, the great promise of the wine capital for this year, that place that takes advantage of the sweet moment of Madrid around gastronomy, where collectors and investors, wine lovers and, possibly, those curious to explore the most chic places in the capital will gather. You have to enter this library-temple with a fun attitude, without thinking too much about a fixed budget and without putting limits on curiosity, like someone who enters, of course, that place full of shelves where unknown works or great immortal titles await, hoping to find a new adventure to begin.

thelibraryboutique.com

C/ Serrano, 2
28001, Madrid, Spain
+(34) 913 304 262