Montsant

DO Montsant, history and tradition
The DO Montsant is a land where the landscape and wine have gone hand in hand over the centuries and where even the old vineyards. A History that, with renewed drive and enthusiasm, walks towards the future.

The relationship of this territory with the vineyard and wine comes from as far away as the Roman Empire.

However, it was not until the Middle Ages that the first expansion of the vineyard took place in the villages and territories that are currently part of the DO Montsant.

It was during Christianization, at the hands of the Carthusian monks of Scala Dei, that cultivation became inseparable from this land. In fact, the establishment of the Carthusian Monastery (1194) was important enough to give its name to an entire geographical region: Priorat, lands of the prior.
Territory
In the villages that are part of the DO Montsant, wine production has been a constant over the centuries.

At the end of the 19th century, the phylloxera plague triggered a long crisis in the sector that eventually led to the emergence of the first cooperatives. They were the beginning of the twentieth century, and their formation helped maintain cultivation in the area and prevent depopulation. These cooperatives include the two modernist cathedrals of Falset and Cornudella, both from 1919.
Landscape
The orography of the DO Montsant is varied. The vineyards are between 50 meters above sea level, in the lowest areas, and 700 meters, in the highest areas.

The territory that is part of the DO Montsant is delimited by a semicircle of mountains that give it a unique shape. By the northern part it is delimited by the mountain range of Montsant, in charge to give name to the DO, and La Llena. To the east, the boundaries are marked by the Sierra de l’Argentera, La Mola de Colldejou and the Sierra de Llaberia, the area closest to the sea. On the opposite side we find the mountains of La Figuera and Tormo, and to the south is where the territory becomes more open facing the river Ebro. The Siurana and Montsant rivers flow there, which together with the Capçanes stream, form the waters that irrigate the territory.

A well-exploited landscape is synonymous with a job well done, quality and sustainability. And these are precisely the values that define the wines of the DO Montsant, where the agricultural model knows how to harmonize the Mediterranean agricultural tradition with innovation and creativity to create a project for the future.
Grape varieties
Although the DO Montsant included 28 wineries when it was born, now there are more than 50 wineries that live there.

Finally, among the grape varieties authorized by the DO Montsant, 4 stand out that can be considered historical and predominant. First, the white varieties are White Grenache and Macabeo. And in the case of reds, Red Grenache and Carignan, which represent more than 65% of the Montsant vineyards.

These historical and autochthonous varieties are the ones that best adapt to the territory and the ones that give uniqueness to the DO Montsant.