Mas d'en Gil: Priorat, Past and Present and Future
12/7/24 -
Over a month ago, we had the pleasure of meeting and tasting with Marta Rovira from Mas d'en Gil, a historic estate in Priorat that has been operating since the 1860s and is currently run by Marta and her family. We talked about the "old" Priorat of the 90s, when her parents' generation focused on integrating international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with the local Garnacha and Carinyena (Grenache and Carignan), favoring extraction and oak in the winemaking. Then we talked excitedly about the future of Priorat, which to us looks bright and very promising! Taking over in 2008, she has been integral in taking the estate from longtime organic practices to full Biodynamic certification. She has also made changes to the style of winemaking, favoring large foudres for fermentation, minimal toast on the small percentage of new barrels they use, less extraction, and pride in the local varieties that are part of the region's history and landscape. Marta's changes at the estate mirror the moves that many Priorat winemakers have made in the last two decades, with a search for elegance and balance that the valleys and soils of the region are uniquely situated to produce.
The finca Mas d’en Gil has a long history of winemaking, dating at least to the middle of the 19th century. Vinegrowing and winemaking likely began even earlier under the Carthusian monks of the Scala Dei monastery that held much of the land in what is now Priorat and Monsant. The estate lies in the Bellmunt del Priorat area at the southern tip of the Priorat appellation, where the cooling Garbinada winds provide relief from hot, sunny summer days. The soils are a mix of marl, slate, and limestone.
The founder of the estate, Francesc Gil, registered the 120 hectare property and produced still and sparkling wines until the end of the 19th century and his family continued that work into the 1930s. Pere Rovira, from a family of farmers in the Alt Penedès, purchased the estate in 1998 and set out to modernize the winemaking facilities. Marta Rovira, Pere’s daughter and an aeronautical engineer by trade, took the reins in 2004 and converted Mas d’en Gil to organic, then biodynamic, farming methods.
Since the 1970s, the wines of Priorat have gone through a wide range of styles, from traditional, concrete-fermented wines made with whole clusters to hyper-modern and heavily extracted juggernauts made with international varieties and aged in small oak barrels. At Mas d'en Gil, the wines have similarly evolved over the past 40 years. Today, the wines are largely fermented and aged in large (1500L+) neutral barrels, with some smaller barrels used on the Coma Vella and Clos Fonta wines. The red wines incorporate small proportions (10% or less) of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon in some cases, but the focus is clearly on Grenache and Carignan, the foundational local grape varieties of Priorat.
Today we’re pleased to offer a set of current and back vintage wines that showcase the inspired results of a century and a half of work at this historic estate located at the heart of the Bellmunt subregion of Priorat. The wines, from the estate’s 45 hectares of biodynamically farmed vines, express a refined and delicate side of Grenache grown mainly on slate soils.
The wines from 2004, 2006 and 2008 are library releases, direct from the estate. They represent the style of Marta's father, Pere Rovira, which favored more extraction and use of oak than Marta has preferred over the years. There are other changes that Marta brought about, besides the conversion to Biodynamic certification. We quote Marta below, from part of an email she wrote us in response to a question about stems in the winemaking process:
"The use of stems has started in 2008 the year I took over from my parents. Previous vintages from 1998 until 2017 were considered "Classic Priorat" and the style was defined by my parents. They preferred to pick a little bit later, a bit more extraction and to use medium toasted oak. From 2008 and depending on the vintage we started using stems in the wines. The use of stems increases the freshness in the wines. We can use between 10 and 30% depending on the wine and vintage." -Marta Rovira
We were looking forward to the tasting with Marta of the new releases from Mas d'en Gil, and we were delighted by the elegance and freshness of the wines. To be honest, it may be a bit of a challenge to introduce American consumers to the "new" Priorat, but we think that the wines are truly compelling and still have power and depth, just with less extraction or oak. Luckily, we can offer both a taste of the "Classic Priorat," as Marta calls it, and a glimpse into the future!
