Home > Cellar Profiles > Vinyes i Cellers Clua Vinyes i Cellers Clua is a tiny winery in the Terra Alta region in the south of Catalunya. It is a region that has traditionally produced Garnatxa based wines, both white and red, and after the recent boom in the Priorat region, attention is now turning to the nearby Terra Alta. The Clua family has been making wine in Vilalba dels Arcs for over four generations, but only since 1995 has the cellar started to bottle its own wine. This change has been driven by the latest generation of the Clua family. Xavier Clua i Coma, pictured here in the vineyards, studied at the oenology university in Tarragona, and after a period of work experience in Bordeax, returned with an aim to make great wines from the local grape varieties. To the largely Garnatxa based vineyards they have added areas of Ull de Llebre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay to complement the local varieties. Their most recent plantation has been a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc, picked for the first time in 2000, it will form part of the Mas d'en Pol blend from this year on. The key to the quality of their wines starts in the vineyards, as Xavier prefers to "interfere" as little as possible in the natural winemaking process. A large proportion of their vineyards are relatively old vines (30-40 years old), which whilst producing smaller yields than younger plants, concentrate a great deal more character into each grape. In the case of the Garnatxa Negra (left) the vines have been reconverted to run along trellises for sanitary reasons, and are pruned leaving relatively long branches to provoke production of a larger number of smaller grapes. In the case of Mil·lennium, the cellar's red Criança (barrel aged) wine, the higher proportion of skin to grape gives extra colour and complexity to the finished wine. In the case of the white wines, the older Garnatxa vines produce much more complex wines. One of the main vineyards for Vindemia is pictured right. The imprint of the red soils of "Argila" seen in the furthest vineyard is clearly noticeable in the wines. In the case of Vindemia, the small percentage of (younger) Chardonnay offers complexity and additional acidity to the wine. Yields in the region are lower than in areas like the Penedès, but slightly higher than those in the Priorat. An area with traditionally very low rainfall and an altitude of around 400m contributes to the quality of the grapes. The best way to appreciate these differences is when allowed to taste the wines separately. Vindemia is fermented in oak barrels, and the production from the different vineyards is produced in separate barrels prior to blending and bottling. The additional complexity of the wine produced from the older vines was clearly noticeable, as was the sensation of viscosity. The balance seen in the final product is achieved as a result of the careful combination of the different characteristics found in different vineyards. The winemaking process starts in the vineyards at harvest time, when each picker picks with two separate boxes. The higher quality grapes are set aside for the cellar's bottled wines, the rest is vinified separately and sold "a granell" (in bulk). After removing the stalks, the grapes are left in a fermenting tank for 12-24 hours before being pressed using a traditional press. After a short period for the heaviest sediments to precipitate out, to barrels for fermenting in the case of Vindemia. The Vindemia ferments in new French-oak barrels, and then is maintained ageing on the lees (although the heaviest lees are removed after fermentation) for around nine months. On the right, Xavier is checking the density of each barrel's wine to control the progress of fermentation. For the red Mil·lennium, or Mas d'en Pol the wine ferments together with the skins in 3000 litre temperature controlled fermenting tanks. The temperature controlled fermenting tanks (see left) are used both for controlling the fermentation (lower temperature fermentations maintain more of the aromatic qualities of the grapes, and at a later stage to raise the temperature of the wine to provoke a secondary, "malolactic" fermentation. After an appropriate time in the barrel, the wines are clarified lightly with egg whites, and after bottling, kept for a further period prior to being released. The 1998 vintage will be released towards the end of the year, whilst the 1999 is still in barrels.The Cellar started producing very small quantities in 1995, with around a thousand bottles of each wine produced. Making Criança wines is an expensive business to begin with, needing quality oak barrels (new each year), with the added problem of not being able to sell the wines until two years after the Verema (harvest). Production of each wine has increased gradually, and the 1998 vintage, the largest yet will produce around 4000 bottles of Vindemia, and around 8000 of the red Mil·lennium, plus the young Mas d'en Pol wines, both of which are available at El Celler Català. A few bottles of each vintage are kept in what's known as the "cementary" for vertical tastings. As production has increased, the cellar has been gradually reformed, rebuilding the underground cellar (completely in stone), and the façade (see the photo above). The latest addition to the Clua range is a sweet red wine first produced as an experiment from the 1998 vintage. Partly the result of a bet, when somebody gave him a wine to taste and he said "I can do better than that!" the wine was produced with Garnatxa Negra grapes picked very late in the season, around November. The single barrel of 1998 was sold in half bottles to a wine merchant in Zaragoza, leading to Xavi producing three barrels in 1999. The wine is still unfinished but already has an extraordinary aroma, and a finish that lasted most of the way back from Vilalba dels Arcs to our base in Aiguamúrcia (about an hour's drive away). Mil·lennium 2003 D.O. Terra Alta - Click here for cellar profile 65% Garnatxa Negre, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Ull de Llebre EUR18.00 Vindemia 2002 D.O. Terra Alta - Click here for cellar profile 75% Garnatxa Blanca, 15% Chardonnay, 10% Sauvignon Blanc EUR18.00 Mas d'en Pol Blanc 2006 D.O. Terra Alta - Click here for cellar profile 60% Garnatxa Blanca, 20% Chardonnay, 15% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Moscatel EUR5.95 Mas d'en Pol Negre 2005 D.O. Terra Alta - Click here for cellar profile 60% Garnatxa, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Ull de llebre, 20% Syrah EUR5.95 © El Celler Català 1998-2006 email us at info@elcellercatala.com