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.

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.

ALL WINES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PICK-UP/DELIVERY ON/AFTER WEDNESDAY 12/11