DO Montsant

DO Montsant is Catalonia's newest (2001). Even so it has a very long history and before 2001 it was part of the Falset sub-zone of DO Tarragona.

The DO's territory spreads across 16 municipalities, most in the Priorat county except a few in Ribera d'Ebre. It encircles DOQ Priorat almost like a perfect ring.

It is a DO mainly of red wines, but some whites from grenache and macabeo are also made, often barrel-aged.

DO Montsant is Catalonia's most recent, approved in 2001. But that fact can be misleading, because this is by no means an area new to winemaking. On the contrary, its immediate origin as the former Falset sub-zone of DO Tarragona and its location, encircling DOQ Priorat almost like a perfect ring —it even includes the vineyards of the county capital, Falset— speak of a rich, ancient winemaking history.

As for the soils, broadly speaking there are three different types, although there is great diversity within each group. On the DO's periphery there are compact, calcareous soils dominated by pebbles and silts from river terraces and reddish clay soils.

In the Falset area there are granitic sands, fertile but with little water retention capacity. In some parts of Cornudella and Falset there are siliceous slates known as "llicorelles", stony soils poor in organic matter.

The climate of DO Montsant is defined by the county's mountainous, rugged terrain, the influence of the river Ebro and the inflow of sea winds. For this reason, although it is a Mediterranean climate, it is more extreme than elsewhere, with a certain continental influence. Notably, such rugged geography allows very varied microclimates that give distinctive traits to different places and can even characterise specific plots.

The vineyards, often with old vines, have low yields, a characteristic that defines this area's wines as intense and concentrated, making them highly prized.

From large cooperatives to small family wineries

DO Montsant has very diverse types of winery, from large cooperatives with a historic track record and private wineries of varying scale to small family wineries, and even growers who make the wines from their vineyards at other wineries' facilities.

It is a place mainly of red wines, where the vineyards of the area's two traditional grape varieties, grenache and carignan, give intense yet balanced wines. So balanced that, despite their proven ageing capacity, the area also produces notable examples of young, fresh, fruity wines.

But whites, though scarcer, are not absent either, and the old white grenache and macabeo vineyards yield excellent examples of intense whites, which often express all their nuances after fermentation and/or ageing in barrel. Fortified, sweet, rancio wines and misteles are also excellently represented.