DO Montsant: up and coming

The DO Montsant was defined ten years ago as a solution to the issue posed by a number of villages (actually seventeen) encircling the prestigious DOQ Priorat yet included in the much less glamorous DO Tarragona. These villages had already a defined personality, recognized with a subzone denomination (Falset) but the quality differential with the rest of the Tarragona DO finally led to the creation of the DO Montsant.

Wine has been produced in the region since Roman times, but the monks of the Scala Dei priory gave a major push to winegrowing in the late Middle Ages. Phylloxera, as everywhere in Catalonia, all but destroyed the wine industry, but in Montsant the cooperative effort managed to bring back wine production to acceptable levels. Now some of these cooperatives, led by the example of Capçanes, are making significant strides in the race for quality. Many of the other wineries in the zone are small (perhaps 20’000 bottles per year), family owned and in the hands of young, enthusiastic people that have decided to remain in the country rather than depart for the big cities.

Montsant vineyards, between 200 and 700 m above sea level, present a wealth of microclimates due to the hilly terrain. Yearly rainfall is about 500 liters by square meter as an average, and concentrated on spring and autumn. Winters are cold, and summers hot and dry. In summer evenings wet sea breezes bring precious moisture that, combined with a big temperature difference between day and night, ensure optimal ripening of the grapes.

Soils are varied, with three main types:  

• Limestone rich compact soils 
• Sandy soils coming from granite decomposition; sited largely around Falset, the main town and seat of the DO Council 
• Slatey soils, known as llicorella, similar to those of Priorat.

The two last soil types have low content of organic matter and drain water extremely well, forcing vine roots to dig deep in search of moisture.

Altogether there are 2’000 hectares under vine, with an average production of 10 million kg of grape. Some fifty wineries are active. Evolution of sales since the establishment of the DO has been astonishing: in 2002 only 10 % of the wine was sold bottled; in 2008, 78 %, one third in Spain and two thirds in international markets, mainly Germany, France, UK and the US.

The range of grapes used are a mixture of traditional local varieties, often more than fifty years old and grown in bush form, and international varieties. For white wines Garnatxa blanca, Macabeu, Parellada, small-berry Moscatell, Pansal and Chardonnay are allowed. For reds Carinyena (aka Samsó), Garnatxa negra, Garnatxa peluda (hairy), Monastrell, Ull de Llebre, Picapoll negre, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.

95 % of wine produced is red. Reds are usually dark and concentrated, while whites can be young and crisp or oak aged, with more structure and complexity. Fruity rosés are sourced largely from Garnatxa negra.

Noteworthy are the rancis and mistelas. Rancis are brown, nutty wines that undergo oxidization in the oak casks for years. Mistelas are produced adding alcohol to unfermented must and aging in oak, sometimes with sherry-like solera systems. These can be perfect wines for aperitif and dessert.

My favourite Montsant wineries: 

• Acustic Celler
• Celler de Capçanes  
• Celler Dosterras 
• Celler el Masroig 
• Joan d’Anguera 
• Coca i Fitó 
• Orto Vins 
• Portal del Montsant 
• Venus La Universal
• Vinyes Domènech

Some outstanding wines are produced in very small wineries (for instance, Espectacle) and some interesting producers only have one or two wines (as Laurona).

Many wines of Montsant exhibit two excellent attributes: personality and a great quality price ratio, as they have not (yet?) achieved the fame of their Priorat neighbors. This is a DO to watch closely.

http://www.domontsant.com/
http://www.acusticceller.com/
http://www.falsetmarca.com/eng/FRAMES.HTM
http://www.cellercapcanes.com/english.htm
http://www.dosterras.com/english/index.html
http://www.cellermasroig.com/?id=en&m
http://www.cellersjoandanguera.com/ing/index.htm
http://www.cocaifito.com/website_eng.html
http://www.portaldelpriorat.com/
http://www.vinyesdomenech.com/VD_2008/
http://www.cellerlaurona.com/celler.php?i=3
http://www.espectaclevins.com/default.asp?pag=230

Vintaix Magnum Rave

Do not be confused; I do my best not to praise extravagantly any wines, and I hope I am not starting to lose my head. It is rather a wine tasting I attended recently, which its organizers, Vintaix, call Rave. It was not a wild party, as the name may suggest, but certainly informal, with live jazz and fluid protocol, and ably led by Miguel Figini.

The first wine of the night was a DO Cava: Castellroig Brut Nature Gran Reserva 2005. This Cava was explained by its winemaker, Marcel Sabaté, who stressed his obsession with terroir and its combination with a given grape variety.

The wine, as a Gran Reserva should, showed developed secondary aromas of bread and croissant, together with a very fine, well integrated and persistent bubble. It comes from a coupage of old-vine Xarel.lo and Macabeu, with no less of 36 months aging. This is not the ideal Cava for a refreshing single glass, but rather a great wine to pair with a full meal.

The second wine was a Petrea blanc 2003 barrel fermented white from the Mas Comtal winery, DO Penedès. It has mainly Chardonnay with a dash of Xarel.lo, with 10 months of Hungarian oak. The colour was a developed lemon yellow, not surprising since it was from the 2003 vintage. In the nose it was understandably closed at the beginning, but with time it developed aromas of butter, white fruits and a hint of wood, with some mineral notes at the end. In the mouth it confirmed the aromas detected; it was unctuous, still fresh and with a long finish. It showed the master hand of one of the leading Penedès winemakers, the late and lamented Joan Milà, who died prematurely last year.

The first red came from DO Empordà and the Espelt winery. Terres Negres 2007 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carinyena, aged twelve months in French oak. Deep cherry colour, with the oak evident in the nose, along with ripe fruit. In the mouth it is well structured, somewhat oaky, with enough tannins and acidity to keep for several years, when it will probably show greater balance.

Signes 2008 is a DO Catalunya red from Bodegas Puiggrós, in the town of Òdena. It is composed of Sumoll and Garnatxa coming from 60+ years vines. Sumoll is a local grape variety that all but disappeared and is now being revived by a handful of wineries, using modern winemaking techniques hitherto never available to Sumoll wines. The old vines, still grown as bushes, are harvested manually and the grapes are collected in small boxes. Aged in French oak for ten months. Deep red, with aromas of toast and spices, with kaleidoscopic evolution in the glass after a few minutes of swirling. In the mouth also show up citric fruits and licorice; excellent balance. Explaines by its enthusiastic winemaker, Josep Puiggrós, it shows how Sumoll wines can be in the future.

Moving now to DO Montsant, we sampled Dosterras 2007 from Celler Dosterras. It comes 100% from 100+ years old Garnatxa vines, harvested manually in 10 kg boxes and aged for sixteen months in French oak. Intense red, with fine legs, there is black fruit and minerality and flower aromas; with a very smooth mouth, freshness and an excellent balance with the wood notes.

The last red was one of the DOQ Priorat pioneers, Clos Martinet 2004 from Mas Martinet. As Magí Batllevell explained, it has 40 % Garnatxa, and 20 % each of Carinyena, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, aged in French oak for sixteen months. Very deep red with few signs of evolution. As for aromas: very mineral, balsamic, black fruits, coffee and toast notes. It fills the mouth, with still noticeable acidity, noble tannins, velvety, long lasting.

After the tasting I had the opportunity to discuss with Silvia Naranjo some of the comments I made on the Guide of Catalan Wine in a previous post. An appropriate end to the Rave, an experience I hope to repeat soon.

http://www.crcava.es/catala/flash.html
http://www.do-catalunya.com/english/engmenu.html
http://www.doemporda.com/index.php?action=presentation
http://www.domontsant.com/
http://www.dopenedes.es/en
http://www.doqpriorat.org/eng/index.php
http://www.castellroig.com/
http://www.mascomtal.com/eng/index.php
http://www.espeltviticultors.com/
http://bodegaspuiggros.com/4/
http://www.dosterras.com/english/index.html
http://www.masmartinet.com/
http://vintaix.com/comunidad/

Wine in the cloister

In the Middle Ages, life in the monasteries revolved around the cloister. Apart of serving as communication, it was a place in which monks walked, relaxed and meditated.

Nowadays these monuments are put to many other uses. In Sant Cugat del Vallès, the town where I live, there is an Abbey with a  magnificent cloister from the 13th century with 140 beautifully carved capitals. As most cloisters, it is warm in winter and cool in summer. All this makes an ideal setting for a popular wine tasting event, perhaps not very scientific, but enabling a lot of interaction with the winemakers.

And that is what took place last Saturday as part of the local fiesta. Organized with the usual (this being the 11th edition) efficiency by the Vins Noè wine club, there were eight wineries, five of them Catalan. Of the other three, a special mention to Bodegas del Jardín, the new enterprise of the Guelbenzu family after selling the Guelbenzu brand (Lautus, Evo), with similarly excellent wines.

First winery in the row was Castell d’Encus, from the DO Costers del Segre. This is a project, led by Raül Bobet of former Torres fame, with vineyards at a height of 800 – 1000 m, expecting climatic change to raise the temperature in the coming years, and using gravity for grape movement and geothermal energy as much as possible. However, they also do use some ancient vats carved in stone for some fermentations.

I liked Taleia, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, flowery and citric, and Ekam, a 100 % Riesling, somewhat disappointing if you expect a full bodied varietal, but very fresh, and showing the aromatic profile of the grape. Also very interesting was ThALARN, a 100 % Syrah fermented partly in oak, partly in steel, and partly in the above mentioned stone vats. This may be the reason of the complexity of aromas, especially of red fruits.

From the DO Catalunya, Ca N’Estruc offered a new wine, the white L’Equilibrista from Xarel•lo grapes and fermented in oak. A pleasant surprise: big, rich and a worthy match to the red version, out of Syrah, Garnatxa and Carinyena and fourteen months in French oak.

Next winery was La Vinyeta, from the DO Empordá. This company has a curious preference for complex blends; I tasted three wines and the simplest included four kinds of grape! The Llavors red is a blend of Carinyena, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Kept for five months in French, Hungarian and Romanian new oak, it is complex to the nose and very well rounded, with an already good integration of alcohol and oak.

The Celler Dosterras (DO Montsant) offered a very light and fresh white, Eterna Flor, and two reds: Vespres, from Garnatxa and Merlot, and the big, complex and mineral Dosterras, 100 % old Garnatxa with sixteen months in French oak and 12 months in bottle.

I could not taste the Cava from Bertha. Time was up; with fine wines and surrounded by walls eight hundred years old, what are two hours?

 
 
 
http://www.vinsnoe.com/
http://www.encus.org/en/index.php
http://www.costersdelsegre.es/eng/index.php
http://www.torres.es/eng/asp/index.asp
http://www.do-catalunya.com/english/engmenu.html
http://www.lavinyeta.es/en/wines/prologue/
http://www.doemporda.com/index.php?action=presentation
http://www.dosterras.com/english/index.html
http://www.domontsant.com/
http://www.crcava.es/catala/flash.html
http://www.cavabertha.com/eng/index.htm