Open Mike: Montsant, Spain.

I have been thinking Spain on-and-off for a few weeks so talked to Mike B last night and he`s game!! Interesting higher elevation region that kinda circles Priorat, Montsant is a fairly new D.O. The grape varieties are Garnacha, Carinena (Carignane) and some Syrah. There appear to be some good co-operatives in the area, Capcanes springs to mind, and most of the wines I have tasted have been very acceptable.

I think I will narrow the selection down to two wineries, but forumites might want to taste some wines from Mas Donis or Fra Guerau, amongst others. I think there is a fair selection out there with a bit of hunting around. The two wines for this upcoming Open Mike are..........

`03 Lasendal, Celler de Capcanes.
`00 Castell de Falset, Agricola Falset Marca.

Hopefully some forumites will be on board so look forward to some possible interesting tasting notes. All imput welcome from those who know Spain better that I!!!!

Hey, I can contribute:

Here are my TN's for the Lasendal - I did not expect to like it, but I did .

• 2003 Celler de Capçanes Montsant Lasendal - Spain, Catalunya, Tarragona, Montsant (6/5/2006)
  Again with lamb and again a quite favourable impression. Pretty red grenache fruit, rather good acidity, wood well integrated - seemless with a clean finish. Not very complex but a nice drink. Drink now.
• 2003 Celler de Capçanes Montsant Lasendal - Spain, Catalunya, Tarragona, Montsant (4/18/2006)
  Dark red, spicy red fruits, big and muscular, chewy texture, carrying the high alcohol quite well - no heat at the finish. Not very complex wine but went well with the fried lamb chops. Drink now.

Posted from CellarTracker


Regards, Robert

Thats the spirit Robert!! This is an area not well covered in day-to-day tasting so thanks for participating. I will be up this weekend, OK who`s next?!!

BTW, both `03`s??? I have a leg of lamb defrosting for my bottle.

BTW, both `03`s???

Yes, I got two bottles .

Robert

Well, I have the `03 here so will open weekend. Anything else there from this area?

[Jenise]

So, Bob, why Montsant? What's typically in Montsant wines? What's special about the growing area? What differentiates these wines from other Spanish reds?

Bob, did you notice Ed's pick of the week?

Looks like Parker gave it a 92. I was not aware of that.

Mas Donís is not a separate winery buty one of the Capçanes co-op's cuvées.

The top Montsant wineries (in addition to Capçanes) are Joan d'Anguera, Venus La Universal, Europvin Falset (Christopher Cannan), Capafons-Ossó (also a Priorat producer), Mas Perinet (here too) and the El Masroig co-op.

Jenise's question, "What differentiates these wines from other Spanish reds?", is difficult to understand, as it's expressed in such general, even vague, terms. What do you mean? Which Spanish reds? Rioja, Bierzo, Toro, Terra Alta, Ribera del Duero, Priorat...? Would you ask "What differentiates Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages wines from other French wines?" if someone announced a tasting of Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages?

So, Bob, why Montsant?

To be honest, Bob and I were at a tasting Tuesday, thinking of ideas for an Open Mike, when we spotted a couple of wines from Montsant.

And therein lies the method to our madness.

[Jenise]

Victor asked:

Would you ask "What differentiates Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages wines from other French wines?" if someone announced a tasting of Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages?

Yes I would if I didn't know. Wasn't being contentious, I really don't know anything about Montsant wines, Victor, and I was hoping Bob could provide a little of what he knows. They're not particularly well known here. I have a few bottles of Capcanes Vall del Calas in my cellar, and remember trying to find information on the 'net about them when I acquired them a year or so ago, and I remember there being discrepancies about what grapes were in the wine. Can't recall now what the discrepancy was but it was on the order of one source saying it was a 50/50 blend in which one of the grapes was merlot, where another split the blend three ways and included tempranillo. Or something like that. That left me unsure of not only what this wine was, but what is typical about Montstants in general. If you can explain, I'd love to learn.

Jenise,

Broadly speaking Montsant is climatically similar to Priorat (in fact the area is like a fat letter "C" that actually surrounds Priorat), and like it's more illustrious neighbour, is blessed with mostly Garnacha and Cariñena varieties. For my money the most interesting "foreign" variety is Syrah, which combines well with both Garnacha and Cariñena. There's a bit of Tempranillo and some (too much) Cab and Merlot, but that's not where the interest is.

The main difference with Priorat are the soils, a mix of mainly calcareous clays - some whiter and stonier, with some wonderful red seams around Masroig and Darmós, where the Anguera brothers make some very good stuff. In fact the Angueras' father is largely credited with being the first to plant (??re-plant??) Syrah in Spain in the early eighties. Look out for la Planella 2005 and Finca l'Argatà or Bugader 2004s from the Joan d'Anguera Cellar. Unusually for this general area, there are some good coops, led by Capçanes, but followed closely by Falset and Masroig. The fact that most of the vineyards are flatter and easier to farm also helps keep some of the prices within a very interesting QPR range.

The D.O. was oficially created five years ago yesterday - it used to be called "Tarragona - Sub-zona Falset" which acknowledged that it was very different to the Tarragona plain, but carried a nasty hint of "Sub-normal, Sub-standard" etc - at least to my ears!

I hope that helps.

So, Bob, why Montsant? What's typically in Montsant wines? What's special about the growing area? What differentiates these wines from other Spanish reds?

Dunno, have some in the cellar on a rec so opening to find out. Have also been buying some wines from Portugal so will need some help there too. I am familar with most of Spain but not Montsant and neighbour Priorat.

Welcome to the forum Peter and thanks for your imput. This is a new area to me and I thought an Open Mike might be of interest, plus educational to many here. I am looking forward to trying my 2 recent buys this weekend.
Hope you stay a while!!!

Thanks for the welcome Bob. I used to lurk fairly regularly (and post very occasionally) in the past, but gave up with the move to Netscape. I'll try to get back in the habit here...

[Jenise]

Peter, thanks so much. It's good to see you again. I have a feeling my bottle's mostly cab and merlot, unfortunately. At least that's what I remember, though as I told Victor there was disagreement among internet sources as to the contents.

Bob, we'll open one of these this weekend.

Jenise,

...disagreement among internet sources as to the contents...

The Capçanes website (http://www.cellercapcanes.com) says Vall de Calàs is 50% Merlot, 30% Garnacha, 20% Ull de Llebre (AKA Tempranillo). At least it does on the Catalan site. The English site says it's 50M, 35G, 15T! Typo or a different blend for the US?

I haven't tried it for some while, but my recollection was that it was competently made if not screaming "place" to me.

Typo or a different blend for the US?

Probably two different vintages were used for reference in the two different languages. Very few serious producers automatically, robotically reproduce the exact grape percentages in a blend, year after year... You go with what the vintage gives you. (I certainly do.)

Of course Victor, most serious producers will adapt blends according to vintage (I can only think of one who specifically doesn't). I only thought it worthy of note as I recalled reading somewhere "special cuvée for the US" that was different to the wine available in Spain under the same name. Rooting around the net, I think it may be the Mas Donis, for which there is a "barrica" version in the US which doesn't seem to be available here.

On the other hand as someone who builds websites for wine producers, it's entirely possible it's a typo - and that what ends up on a website is often an "averaged out" version of the exact blend.

By the way, my first encounter with Salia (haven't had an opportunity to try the top cuvee yet) has only reinforced my love affair with Syrah.

I think we are seeing quite a few special blends for the N American market, as well as in the UK for the superstores. In the early `90s, a Tesco V. Telegraph bore little resemblance to the same wine purchased over in in Canada!!!
Thanks for continuing this discussion on our Open Mike.

Well, it`s Friday 11pm MT and have just opened the `00 Castell de Falset. Huge wine here, almost spoofy Otto!!! Stay tuned for real impressions tomorrow. Blend of Grenache, Carignan, Cab Sauv.

********Peter, I sent you a PM.

Huge wine here, almost spoofy Otto!!!

I was going to buy one Montsant for the weekend but was firmly told by the shop that I am not allowed to buy the wine as I would not like it one bit as it is too spoofy. A great marketing tactic I'm sure telling your customer you're not to buy the wine! I might make another attempt next week to source some!

Huge wine here, almost spoofy Otto!!!

I was going to buy one Montsant for the weekend but was firmly told by the shop that I am not allowed to buy the wine as I would not like it one bit as it is too spoofy. A great marketing tactic I'm sure telling your customer you're not to buy the wine! I might make another attempt next week to source some!

Dark glasses, hat with brim pulled down, American accent....they will sell you a case!!!!

2003 Cellar de Capcanes Lasendal Garnatxa

Whew, a bit of a biggie. Smokey nose with opulently ripe plums. Blueberries, blackberries and black currants on the palate, with bitter coffee at the back of the mouth. From what I could learn, it's 85% grenache and 15% Syrah. After a couple of hours the Syrah characteristics started to emerge, with some pepper showing up and a nice earthiness. Perhaps a little too warm, but not hot.

Good bang for the buck at $21 Cdn. Parker gave it 92 points - I wouldn't go as high, but I'd buy it again to go with steak.

Otto
Just looked up my note on the 2002 Mas Collet - not my finest work (sometimes it's just a vibe). Here it is FWIW:

Better than our previous bottle and showed signs that a little more age might work well. Light and savoury, it went well with a friday night salad after work. Decent value

From recollection the 1st bottle was a bit simple fruity (hence their spoofed comment). Maybe get it but give it a decent decant and see how it shows then.

regards

Ian