2013 Capcanes “Le Sendal” Montsant, Spain
Garnacha 85% Syrah 15%
Capcanes is Co–op winery but not as we know it. Co-op’s are normally a haven for thin weedy wines, where little love or attention is devoted to the wines. This used to be the case at Capcanes, until 1995. It was at this time that the wines of Priorat were starting to gain a lot of attention, and a group of growers realised that bulk wine was not the direction to follow.
They needed to focus on premium wines and for that they needed to pay the growers on quality and not just yield, plus they needed to invest in a new winery and the oak needed for quality wines. These wines were to be viticulturally-driven, based on rigorous yield management from dry-grown old bush-vines. This was an extraordinary risk on the part of extremely poor peasant farmers – a desperate leap of faith, which has paid off wonderfully.
There were a few growing pains along the way, with the exclusion of a number of growers who did not want to follow this process.
LaSendal’ means “the path’ and indicates the site halfway up the mountain to the towering Cabrida vineyards (Cabrida being the nimble mountain goat going up the high mountain passes where the old limestone Cabrida vineyards reside). LaSendal spends 9 months in US barriques and is a blend of Garnacha with 15% Syrah.
This is quite a savoury expression of Grenache/Garnacha and is a lovely glass of wine. This wine will really benefit from decanting and matching with the right food. The structure of the wine really demands a nice meal
There are lots of the heady balsamic regional character that you get with wines from this area of Spain. The fruit is juicy and fleshy with very judicious oak, totally incorporated into the wine, adding to the length and structure of the wine and creating a sensational mouthfeel.