Mas d'en Gil - Priorat Winery with more Diversity than History

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Mas d'en Gil - Priorat Winery with more Diversity than History
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Mas d'en Gil estate was founded in 1867 and since 1998, owned by the Rovira Carbonell family (above), four generations of winemakers that produces single estate wines. Located in the south of the D.O.C Priorat, the estate has 35 hectares of vineyards, between 10 - 100 years old of mainly Grenache and Carignan. Also white Grenache, Macabeo and Viognier as white grapes are planted in small plots in the estate.

The rest are century old olive trees, almond trees and hazelnuts that are surrounded by 55 hectares of forest that preserves the biodiversity, the Mediterranean essence and the organic agriculture. Since 2008, the winery has been working with the biodynamic methond and moon calendar.

La-Coma

The Bellmunt - An Identity

This “bell munt” (“beautiful – mountain”), the iconic, mesmerising mountain which frames Mas d’en Gil gives their village its name, Bellmunt del Priorat, the municipal area which brings the southern part of the DOQ Priorat to a close.

Located just a kilometer from the vineyard estate, the centre of the village stretches along two ridges with their respective ravines on either side slipping away steeply downwards towards the Siurana River. Bellmunt’s economy is still based on farming, dating back generations and yet it is also a village well known for its famous mines which were worked as far back as the Romans. From the sixteenth century onwards, the mineral extracted here was used in the well known Reus style pottery. The most interesting building in the village is precisely the former headquarters of the Mines, the “Casa de les Mines”. Built in 1905, it is the best example of Modernista or Art Nouveau style architecture in the Priorat. Currently Bellmunt has a population of around 250 inhabitants.

Mas d’en Gil’s location as well as that of the whole Bellmunt municipal area benefits from a differentiating climatic factor, which is extremely important in the summertime: the easy access of the “Garbinada”, the refreshing south-easterly sea breeze which blows in from the Mediterranean on the hottest of afternoons in summer. It helps plants to absorb the moisture needed to continue the ripening process.

This “Garbinada” wind is tactile and can be heard. Its gentle murmuring is the music which caresses the vine leaves and the silver olive leaves.

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The Dynamics of Life and Biodiversity

Biodynamic farming practices, which sets the pace of farming life at Mas d’en Gil continues and has become more professional since the Rovira Carbonell family bought and took over the running of the estate. Based on observing and understanding our surroundings, we are looking to find synergies between the physical elements of the place, the intangible components of the environment and visible and microscopic life. They aim to favour interaction, making harmony possible whilst expressing transparency and personality. Working the vineyards according to the Moon Calendar and biodynamic precepts, Mas d'en Gil also relies on horsepower who has become a symbol of their search for purity.


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Mas d'en Gil Coma Alta White 2015


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