Montsant () is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) (''Denominació d'Origen Protegida'' in Catalan) for

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

located in the province of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

(

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) and covers 12 municipalities. It was previously known as the Falset subzone of Tarragona (DO), and was created as a separate DO in the early 2000s. Regional approval came in 2001, and from 2002 wines were sold as Montsant rather than Tarragona.DO Regulations, published in DOGC no. 4414 dated 28-6-2005.
In Catalan Montsant takes its name from the Montsant Mountains in the area. Under the auspices of the DOP Montsant, the region has seen rapid growth, starting with 28 official cellars in 2002 which grew to number 55 currently. Approximately 94% of the production is of red wine with 62% exportation outside Spain, 28% consumed in Catalonia, and 10% sold to the rest of Spain.

Geography

Montsant DOP almost completely surrounds the more famous

Priorat (DOQ) Priorat is a Denominació d'Origen Qualificada (DOQ) for Catalan wines produced in the Priorat county, in the province of Tarragona, in the southwest of Catalonia. The DOQ covers 11 municipalities. It primarily produces powerful red wines, wh ...

. The vineyards extend along the mountainsides among olive groves, forests and rocky outcrops. The denomination covers the area of

Priorat Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The region is named due to the monastery of Scala Dei which held many properties and the capital is now the town of Falset. Economy The central part of the comarca, ''Pr ...

comarca that is not part of DOQ Priorat as well as part of the neighboring comarca of

Ribera d'Ebre Ribera d'Ebre () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It extends to both sides of the Ebre river between the reservoir of Riba-roja and Miravet. It belongs to the Terres de l'Ebre Terres de l'Ebre (, in English 'Ebro, Ebre Lands') is t ...

. In total, 17 villages are included:

La Bisbal de Montsant La Bisbal de Montsant () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Priorat in Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Cat ...

Cabacés Cabacés () is a municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Priorat in the Provinces of Spain, province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. It is also known as Cabassers, which was its official name until 1989. See also *Municipal election ...

, Capçanes, Cornudella de Montsant,

La Figuera La Figuera () is a town in Priorat, Catalonia, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of contin ...

, els Guiamets, Marçà,

Margalef Margalef () is a village in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the edge of Montsant and is a popular ecotourism destination, especially among rock climbers. The rock type is conglomerate and it has more than 1500 climbing routes of differe ...

, El Masroig,

Pradell de la Teixeta Pradell de la Teixeta () is a municipality in Catalonia, Spain, located in the comarca of Priorat, in the province of Tarragona Tarragona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is b ...

, La Torre de Fontaubella, Ulldemolins, along with portions of Falset, Garcia, El Molar,

Móra la Nova Móra la Nova () is a municipality in the ''comarca'', or district, of the Ribera d'Ebre in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the left bank of the Ebre river, facing the district capital Móra d'Ebre. It is served by a RENFE railway station on ...

and

Tivissa Tivissa () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Ribera d'Ebre, Catalonia, Spain. It is located below the La Llena Mountains, La Llena massif. As well as the village of Tivissa itself, the municipality also includes the village of La Serra d'Almo ...

(the sub-villages of Darmós and La Serra d'Almos.

Soils

Vineyards range from 200 to 700 meters in elevation and sit on three main soil types: chalky clay, granitic sand, and slate. The elevation tends to increase towards the Serra de Montalt in the southwest and towards the

Serra de Montsant Serra de Montsant is a mountain chain in Catalonia, Spain. The main populated area in the range is La Morera de Montsant. Description It is part of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. The main peaks are Roca Corbatera (1,163 m), Piló dels Senyalets ( ...

in the northwest. There is a large degree of variation from the small, relatively flat plain around Falset and Marçà to the higher elevation village of La Figuera that sits on a mountain range at 575 meters.

Climate

The climate is

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

with continental influences. Summers are dry and annual rainfall is about 650 mm, falling mainly in autumn. There is only an occasional risk of hailstones or frost.

Authorised grape varieties

The authorised grape varieties are: * Red: Garnatxa Negra, Carinyena, Ull de llebre,

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

, and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

* White: Garnatxa Blanca, Macabeu / Viura,

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

, Moscatell d’Alexandria, and

Xarel·lo Xarel·lo () is a white grape variety of Spanish origin specially grown in Catalonia. With Macabeo and Parellada, Xarel·lo is one of the three traditional varieties used to make the sparkling wine cava. Spanish plantations stood at in 200 ...

Wine styles

The main style of Montsant is powerful red wines, which can be similar to the wines of Priorat when they are made from old vine Grenache and Carignan. Production also includes white wines, rosé wines, sweet red wines and 'vi ranci' style wines made using a

Solera Solera is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many yea ...

system.

Kosher

DOP Montsant has the distinction of being the only region in Catalonia (and one of only a handful) in Spain where

kosher wine Kosher wine () is wine that is produced in accordance with ''halakha'', and more specifically ''kashrut'', such that Jews will be permitted to pronounce blessings over and drink it. This is an important issue, since wine is used in several Jewi ...

is produced.

References

External links

D.O.P. Montsant official website
{{coord, 41, 8, 49, N, 0, 49, 17, E, source:cawiki_region:ES-CT_type:adm2nd, display=title Catalan wine Wine regions of Spain