Portal del Montsant

Address: Carrer de Dalt, s/n, 43775 Marca (Tarragona) Spain
Telephone: +34 977 178 486, +34 609 553 246
Email: portal@portaldelmontsant.com
Website: http://www.portaldelpriorat.com/

Like a delapitated house, slowly crumbling to its ruin, since 2001, Architect Alfredo Arribes has restored the terraced lands called, closters, of the Priorat near El Molar, Bellmunt and el Lloar into their original beauty. And as a result of the succes of his Priorat winery, Clos de Priorat, or maybe out of a deepseeded desire to challenge his creativity, in 2003 Alfredo began Portal del Montsant with his partner Ricardo Rufes.

Nestled inside the old Marca Cooperative building, from the outside, one could easily pass by the structure and assume it’s abandoned, potentially one of the many victims to the recent economic downturn. But walk inside and it feel like a converted NYC warehouse, complete with a sleek and minimalist IKEA like design. Even the winery itself is practical and simple, a ready-to-assemble metal structure literally constructed in the center of the old cooperative surrounded by a minon of ancient cement tanks. ”Rather than revamp the entire winery, it seemed more appropriate to simply add what we needed in the extra space provided,” added Alfredo.

But his the ingenuity didn’t end there. In the very heart of the winery, deep in the recesses of the building, they’ve cut into the old presses to create small barrel aging rooms each devoted to a particular parcel of land. We tasted approximately 1/2 dozen barrel samples that afternoon, all from the same vintage, but differing in their location and soil type: clay, sand or chalk. “I don’t think you can make a good wine from only one area, because what most people don’t understand is that Montsant is a palatte of landscapes, and when blended together, they create the spirit of Montsant.” 

Unlike Priorat, whose diversity is dependent on the climate, Montsant not only has climatic variations, but also profound soil and altitude variations as well. “Find me another place in Spain where you can find high levels of alcohol with an equally bright and fresh acidity?”  

Wines are made from Samso, Garnatxa, Syrah, Garnatxa Blanc and Chardonnay.

Wines Produced: Santbru Carinyenes Velles, Santbru Blanc, Brunus Blend, Brunus Rosé

Alfredo Arribas – Portal del Montsant from ryan and gabriella opaz on Vimeo.