Cellers Can Blau Blau Red Blend 2009
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Blau has a cherry purple glint and shows an interesting range of aromatic notes and complexity. Fresh and balanced, complex and fruity, with notes completely reflecting the terroir. This wine has a fresh finish, with a hint of spice and minerality.
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Dense yet lively, this expressive red shows morello cherry, floral, licorice and mineral flavors supported by light, firm tannins and fresh acidity. Mountain herb and smoke notes keep this from turning candied, but the sweet fruit lingers nicely. Drink now through 2016. 6,500 cases made.
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Founded in 2003, Cellers Can Blau is located in the town of El Molar, in the northeastern region of Catalunya. The appellation of Montsant is a small region that surrounds the appellation of Priorat, and the two regions share many similarities in terms of climate, soils, and wine style.
Cellers Can Blau has 99 acres of estate vineyards, most of which average 40 years old, planted mainly with Mazuelo (Carignan), Grenache, and Syrah. Each is planted in soils which give personality to each grape: Mazuelo is planted in sandy and clay soils; Garnacha is planted in slate soils (known as llicorella), and Syrah is in limestone soils.
The climate is Mediterranean with some Continental influences, characterized by dry summers and about 25 inches of rainfall per year, mostly in the fall. The vineyards are planted on the sloping hillside of the Sierra de Montsant at an altitude of approximately 2,000 feet. The region is known for red blends, typically based on Mazuelo (Carignan) and Garnacha, lending to complex and intense wines with a strong mineral character marked by the slate soils (Llicorella) that make this area so unique.
All of our vineyards are dry-farmed, without the use of pesticides or herbicides, and the winery is fully off the electrical grid using solar power. Vines are hand-harvested and then the wine is fermented in stainless steel before being transferred to French oak barrels for aging.
Spanish red wine is known for being bold, heady, rustic and age-worthy, Spain is truly a one-of-a-kind wine-producing nation. A great majority of the country is hot, arid and drought-ridden, and since irrigation has only been recently introduced and (controversially) accepted, viticulture has sustained—and flourished—only through a great understanding of Spain’s particular conditions. Large spacing between vines allows each enough resources to survive and as a result, the country has the most acreage under vine compared to any other country, but is usually third in production.
Of the Spanish red wines, the most planted and respected grape variety is Tempranillo, the star of Spain’s Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. Priorat specializes in bold red blends, Jumilla has gained global recognition for its single varietal Monastrell and Utiel-Requena has garnered recent attention for its reds made of Bobal.