Amathus Drinks continue to expand their portfolio with the addition of two new Catalonian producers: Celler l’Encastell from Priorat and Celler Masroig from Montsant. The wines will be showcased for the first time to both Trade and Consumers at the Wines from Spain annual tasting on Thursday, 7th of March.
In 1999, Carme Figuerola and Raimon Castellvi founded Celler l’Encastell, an 8-hectare estate making small volumes of highly concentrated red wines from ancient vineyards, some over 100 years old. The hills of Priorat are the source of some of Spain’s most highly sought-after wines. Here, the high altitude and iron-rich slate soils combine to create wines of great personality, depth and minerality. Carme and Raimon work their steep, low-yielding terraced vineyards entirely by hand. This tiny estate produces wines which easily match the most famous names of the region.
The first shipment consists of two wines from the outstanding 2015 vintage, dominated by old-vine Garnatxa; Marge and Roquers de Porrera.
Montsant is a region that surrounds Priorat at a slightly lower altitude and offers similar wines that are slightly more approachable in both style and price. Since 1917, Celler Masroig has been producing wines using fruit originating from their vineyards situated on dry, red clay soil, surrounded by their extensive olive groves. They create clean, modern wines that capture the essence of both region and variety in an approachable, fruit-forward yet complex and mineral style that offers superb value.
The Carinena-focused 2016 Rojalet Seleccio and 2016 Les Sorts Sycar are the two new wines Amathus has shipped from Celler Masroig for the UK market.
Jeremy Lithgow MW, Head of Wine at Amathus Drinks explained: “Spain continues to offer value and quality at all levels, and as part of the ongoing premiumisation and diversification of our wine portfolio it was important for us to represent this. We tasted many samples from Priorat and Montsant and these two producers stood out in both senses, with exceptional wines displaying great typicity at sensible prices”.
