Region: Falset, Spain
Vintage: 2015
Composition: 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah
History: The name Clos Pissarra is derived from the Catalan word for slate, as this is the soil that covers the regions of Montsant (sacred mountain) and Priorat (priory), that lie about 85 miles southwest of Barcelona. Arrels, meaning ‘roots’, as in a way we are returning to the place we originally came from. Priorat has quickly established itself as the premier wine region in Spain, producing wines of great intensity and concentration but yet remaining elegant and balanced. The most highly regarded sites comes from the villages of Bellmunt del Priorat, El Molar, El Lloar, Gratallops and Porrera. Montsant has found a most comfortable niche, being described as a softer, more approachable version of Priorat, and a great value.
The Vineyard: In the Spring of 2017 they decided to combine their two parcels in Montsant, Arrels and Aristan, that are contiguous with one another and adjoin the winery, to create a single wine. The grapes come from an eleven acre vineyard that is owned by chefs Gerald Hirigoyen (Piperade), Laurent Manrique (Café de la Presse), Sylvain Portay (formerly with Ducasse) and Master Sommelier Emmanuel Kemiji (Miura Vineyards). Made of about 60% 25-year old Grenache (Garnatxa in Catalan) vines with the remaining 40% being 12 year old Syrah vines., the soil is a mixture of clay and licorella (the local name for a soft-type of slate). The yields are cut back to a miserly one and a quarter tons to the acre as is typical of the best vineyards of this region.
