Celler de Capcanes, Mas Donis Barrica

Celler de Capcanes, founded in 1933, is situated in the village of Capcanes and has served for many years as the village cooperative winemaking facility. The town of Capcanes was mainly responsible for getting the Montsant wine region its own DO status. In the 1990’s, the co-op began making kosher wines for the Jewish population of Barcelona, and from that exposure in the much larger city, the property began to attract a greater level of interest. Wine expert and importer Eric Solomon approached the Celler of Capcanes and asked for a custom cuvée to be made from some of the better vines of the property.

The 2005 Old Vine Mas Donis Barrica is a blend of 85% Garnacha (from 60+ year old vines), and 15% Syrah. The varietals are vinified separately, stirring the lees twice a day. The Garnacha is aged for nine months in a combination of oak barrels and stainless steel tanks, and the Syrah is aged for three months in a blend of American and French oak barrels. Depending on the season, the grapes are harvested from early September to mid October by hand. The alcohol content is a whopping 14%.

The 2005 vintage is medium bodied with a nice lingering finish. It is medium ruby to pale burgundy in color, and the aromas are filled with berry fruit and lilacs. The first taste brings light, herbal grassy hints to the deep, berry-sour cherry flavors. There is an under layer of old world leather. The wine’s tannins are sweet and fresh with an overall ripe flavor. Only a small amount of this wine is imported to the US.

Montsant, Spain

Montsant is quite similar to the famous Priorat region of Spain both culturally and historically. LOCATION -Located in northeastern Spain, not far from the Catalan capitol of Barcelona, the region lies just to the west of the Priorat and shares the same hilly, rocky landscape. Montsant was recently granted their own official DO (Denominacion de Origen) status as a wine region in 2001. TERROIR - The 2,100 acres of this region encircles the Priorat region and is just a few hours southwest of Barcelona. The terroir of Montsant is quite rugged and stony with hand carved terraces that climb the steep mountainsides. ALTITUDE - The vineyard parcels in Montsant are planted 300 and 700 meters above sea level. Being so close to the sea, the CLIMATE is Mediterranean and is very warm with moderate amounts of rainfall. The soil in the lower altitudes is rich and fertile, whereas the soil in the northern altitudes is very poor, with high levels of slate and granite. The vineyards in the higher altitude are terraced with many old vines that take on the minerally stony qualities of the soil in the grapes. As in the neighboring Priorat region, the best wines are red. These wines are generally very concentrated with deep color and because of the rainfall and warm climate have a high alcohol content. GRAPES - The traditional grapes of Montsant include Garnacha, Syrah and Carignane.