Montsant: Holy Mountain bargains from Spain

Jul 17 2009 by Helen Savage, The Journal

IF wine is to sell successfully it must not only taste good, but have a name or brand that people can remember.

“Tarragona-Falset Sub-zone” does not slip easily off the tongue.

In 2001 the authorities came to the rescue, and the appellation of “Montsant” was born, named after the rugged “holy mountain” that looms above neighbouring Priorat’s most highly-prized vineyards.

Montsant deserves its independence. Most of its wines are a cut above those made on the hot vineyards of the coastal plain near the old Roman city of Tarragona in North East Spain. But it still plays second fiddle to the prestigious and fashionable wines of Priorat which it surrounds almost entirely, rather in the way that the white spreads out from the yolk of a fried egg – or so says Gerard Amorós, who manages the official body that oversees the appellation.

Priorat’s best wines, as I reported a fortnight ago, can be fabulous, but are sometimes shockingly expensive. Wine makers in Montsant haven’t yet managed to climb on the same gravy train. Prices remain more than reasonable: they are some of the hottest bargains in the whole of Spain.

Priorat’s reputation rests to a large extent on its unforgiving unusual grey slate and schist soil, known locally as “llicorella”. Llicorella is found in parts of Montsant, but there are also sandy, granite-based gravels and limestone with clay soils. The northern part of Montsant is just as high and remote as Priorat – and crucially for the production of fine grapes, just as cool. The south is much warmer.

The greater range of soils and climate in Montsant is not entirely a disadvantage. It means, for example, that there is a good chance of finding suitable sites on which to grow a number of different grape varieties to supplement the traditional vineyards of Grenache and Carignan. And there are some, even in Priorat, who insist that the greatest Grenache of all comes from clay soils high on the holy mountain of Montsant.

There are few wineries and less obvious signs of investment than in Priorat, but the top producers have already set the bar high. The most impressive wines of all come from Malandro, a small family affair, managed by Joan Carles Estivill, whose broad smile bears witness to a man who knows, deep down, that he’s getting it right.