Under Sara Perez’s stewardship, Mas Martinet has become one of Spain’s most highly regarded small family estates, with legions of fans around the world. It comes as no surprise really, for Sara is one of those infectious characters who manages to explain complicated terroir and winemaking concepts in ways that, even to professionals, are abstract yet wholly understandable. Her passion when talking about the vineyards she exploits is palpable and visible. . You understand just what she means when she throws her arms up like a spring bursting from the earth and says “Escurcons, it is life. It needs the cool breath of an amphora to truly allow it to express itself”. And when she hunches her shoulders and furrows her arms to the earth and says “Pesseroles is elemental and needs wood to give it some warmth” you get it too.
“Our wines must reflect the history of Priorat. They must be clearly born of this place and I want our single crus to represent the different epochs. Els Escurcons speaks to the bygone era pre-phylloxera. It is a wine where traditional methods must prevail.” Pure, cerebral Garnacha, from the highest vineyard in Priorat, it ferments in clay pots with 100% whole clusters and aging is carried out in clear glass demi-johns. “Since 2015 I have learned to pay more attention on the fermentation vessel. In classic enology they tell you that it is only really the aging vessel that matters, but that is so wrong.”
Read MoreCami Pesseroles speaks to the early part of the twentieth century post-phylloxera. Primarily centurion Carinena, with a smaller proportion of Garnacha planted in 1939 after the Spanish Civil War, they are co-fermented in oak casks and, from 2017, the wine is then aged in chestnut, acacia and cherry barrels. “It’s true that the chestnut is more rustic but it fits the character of Carinena, and the vineyard too, I think the wine has more soul, more character, more complexity.” The third cru, Clos Martinet, is a blend of Garnacha, Carinena, Syrah and Cabernet. “It is the wine that reflects the present day inventiveness and personality of our region.” Planted in the 1980s, Clos Martinet was historically fermented and aged in various vessels; marrying barrique, foudre, amphora and demi-john, but from 2017 that has been pared back. While fermentation is still in mixed vessels, the aging is now centred around foudre and demi-john. It finishes in concrete for three to four months before bottling.
Martinet Bru completes the quartet of reds and is always released a year ahead of the crus. Where production on the single crus rarely exceeds 2k bottles, the 2018 Bru is more accessible and the perfect introduction to the Mas Martinet style. A softer, silkier expression with more easy-going up front fruit, it drinks beautifully on release, as many of Barcelona’s top restaurants attest to. The grapes are all picked at the same time and co-fermented. “We want to keep alcohols on the lower side and maximise elegance. I therefore co-ferment to average the different ripeness levels and build freshness in to the wine.” Bru is a blend of predominantly Grenache and Syrah with a little Carignan, Cabernet and Merlot. Since 2010 this has come from a single vineyard that sits just outside of Falset.
For the first time this year, we are delighted to offer a tiny amount of the new Cami Pesseroles Brisat 2017 – a naturally-styled orange wine produced from a blend of Picpoul, Garnacha Blanca and Pedro Ximenez planted in 2002. The first experiments began in 2008, and now that they have a full hectare in production (which will eventually rise to two) it can be commercially released. All the varieties are picked at the same time and foot-trodden before pressing in to amphora with 30% skins and stalks for 3 months, before finishing in demi-johns and lined clay pots. It is perhaps the most complex and richly textured orange wine we have encountered. “We are trying to go back to the traditions and situate new wines along old histories.”
Last but by no means least is the Ranci Dolç NV, an unbelievable naturally sweet wine produced from dried Garnacha grapes, and matured in a solera that contains components of up to 100 years old. Bottled in miniscule batches every two years with approximately 80g residual sugar, it is a truly remarkable wine produced in a resolutely traditional style.
A word on the vintage. 2017 was an especially warm, dry year in Priorat. However, unlike 2016, which came off the back of a very hot and dry 2015, and was itself a concentrated year, 2017 benefitted from a wet winter and rain earlier in the season, which sustained the vines through the very dry summer. In a bid to retain freshness and moderate alcohols, harvest began early in August, and selections were carried out exclusively in the vineyards, doing away with the sorting table entirely for the first time. Additionally, there was no time to prepare a pied du cuve so they simply put the grapes in the vats and let them ferment on their own timelines. The positive results have inspired a permanent change, and in Sara’s words, “every year I am shedding more fears”. This is a harmonious, flowing set of wines with brighter, more detailed fruit and charm than the more powerful 2016s, which although hugely impressive, will need time to unfurl.
All wines are in stock and available for immediate delivery.