We popped next door, into Celler Cal Pla. Joan was not there, but an older woman (his mother?) sent us up hill to another garage. He was busy overseeing the sorting of grapes, but came out to greet us. A very handsome man, Joan had excellent English. He also laughed easily, including at my jokes. I instantly liked him.
In life, you should like people who genuinely laugh at your jokes.
Anyhow, I've heard about garage wineries, but never really could picture them until this trip to Porrera. We did not go out to the vineyard, because, as Pavel noted, it wouldn't be any different than the Clos Dominic vineyard. Except bigger. Celler Cal Pla has 35 hectares, which is seven times larger than Clos Dominic. That's 86.5 acres for you Americans.
(Editor's Note: Uh, Glen, you are an American, and you have no idea how big a hectare is without Google to calculate it for you! Blogger: But it reads better if I give off some European vibe of feeling superior! Editor: Oh no, he's gone native!)
Cal Pla was founded in 1814. In fact, the family legend starts with "In 1814 we took a little trip. . ."
They produce around 150,000 bottles per year -- ten times that of Clos Dominic. And yet they are proud to work with Clos Dominic as neighbors. I quipped that I was carrying the bag of the enemy, but Joan was quick to note they had lent Dominic some equipment just yesterday.
Joan showed us the fermentation tanks, the labeling machine in operation, and two cellars, including one where you could listen to the wine fermenting in the barrels through special fermentation beakers (well, that's not what they are exactly, but I don't know what to call them).
After that,we went and tasted the wines, including two whites. One of the whites is 20 years old, and looked like golden wine. Then we had three reds, including Black Slate, which is sold in the United States. We also tasted the Mas d'en Compte, which is sold here in Spain and is similar to Black Slate, but not quite the same. Of course, I personally preferred the wine they sell here in Spain, but I will watch for Black Slate.
Their final wine is the favorite of Pavel's wife, which they get on special occasions. Planots is the name of the wine, and it is a blend of Garnacha Negra and Carinyena. Along with those two grapes, they also grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnatxa Blanca, Xarel.lo, Picapoll Blanca,
Macabeau and Moscatell.
The tasting room is up a few flights of stairs on the side of a hill in town. The view is of olive trees, terraced vineyards, and low mountains. Not a bad view from your office!
Joan is the winemaker, and described thusly on one wine website:
"Joan Sangenís is descended from eight generations of unruly locals who farmed various crops in Porrera His family first started making wine in 1814 and until 1996 they sold their wines in bulk to the residents of the village. Joan’s parents Jaume and Mercé, who both still tend to the family’s vines, purchased Mas d’En Compte in 1988 greatly expanding the scope of the family business. Along with this purchase came a ancient, ruined house in the village which they renovated with the intention of estate bottling their wines. With much of the newly purchased vineyards being in disrepair, they also undertook resuscitating the old vines and planting new ones and when their son, Joan, finished his studies in enology in 1996, Celler Cal Pla was born."Anyhow, the visit was quite pleasant. It is fabulous to get to talk to the winemaker directly.
Taking out the leaves and other stuff from
the grapes. It requires fast hands.
There's a lot more grapes to sort through.
Joan with the raw materials
of his family tradition.
In one of the cellars.
An approximate translation: This
land is appropriate for life in Priorat.
Unlabeled bottles.
The label machine at work.
The wine continues fermenting.
The "bubblers" at the top of each
barrel continue for twelve days.
The tasting room.
A view of olive trees, terraced
vineyards (upper right), and
low rising mountains.
Pont Vell in Porrera. It's the dry season,
so there is no water in the "river." Alas,
I could not find any info on how old it is.
We had lunch in the center of town, at Cal Carlets. By this point, the perils of having two wine tastings before lunch (afternoon, but before food) was catching up to me, and I did not eat much.
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