There aren’t a lot of people who live in the small Catalan village of Capcanes, and of those who do, many are members of Spain’s premier wine cooperative. This cooperative was established in 1933. For decades they only sold fruit or made bulk wine for blending and bottling elsewhere. In the late eighties they watched nervously as their biggest customer, Torres, began buying land in the area. Into this picture stumbled German winemaker Jurgen Wagner. Stunned by the potential he saw in the wild Montsant landscape and the vineyards above Capcanes, he began to work with the growers to help them get the very best out of their vineyards. Then the coop was approached by the Jewish community in Barcelona, asking them to produce Kosher wine. They achieved that with sabbath observant interns doing the work under close observation from winemakers. The success of that project on every level inspired then director Francesc Blach to go further. He persuaded the coop members to mortgage their properties and invest in restoring the best ancient vineyards, and to invest in rebuilding and re-equiping the cellars. The vastly improved cellars enable Capcanes to produce a broad set of seriously good wines. Peraj Ha`abib is widely recognised as one of the best Kosher wines anywhere. Cabrida is a stunning rendition of old-vine mountain Garnacha.

The coop members cultivate old bush vines on the hills and steep terraces above and around Capcanes. More than anything else they work with Garnacha, but they also have Samso (a.k.a. Carinena a.k.a. Carignan), Tempranillo, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Macabeo and Garnacha Blanca. Altitude ranges from around 250 to 550 metres, on a fairly diverse range of soils. limestone, clay, sand and schistous slate. Neighbouring Priorat is mostly on schist, a dark soil that retains the heat and ripens grapes easily and quickly. But the dominant soil at Capcanes and across Montsant is limestone, a soil of freshness and elegance. (NT 08/09/23)