Celler del Roure Les Alcusses D.O Valencia 2023
The Wine:
50% Monastrell, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Garnacha Tintorera, 10% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, 10% Syrah
Hand harvested, destemmed, natural yeast fermentation in stainless steel tanks.
8 months in 250-500L French oak barrels and 5000L French oak foudres
About the Producer:
Celler del Roure is nothing short of the pioneer of quality wine in the DO Valencia. Until recently, Valencia was only known for its cheap bulk wines, but it is now blossoming into one of Spain most interesting wine regions. Thanks to the estate, which rehabilitated long-forgotten local grapes like the red Mando and the white Verdil, and also rediscovered the use of amphoras.
Pablo Calatayud is like the exception that proves the rule. He has no family roots in wine. He is a newcomer in the profession, which is not really a bad thing in a region like Valencia, where it is better not to follow the « tradition » of high yields, low prices and bad quality. He was lucky enough not to be influenced by all this and to start with a sound basis. His family is active in the local furniture business but supports his project wholeheartedly. Since a few years, his wife Sandra has also been working on the estate. The vineyard is located in Clariano, Valencia’s hinterland, a region with an enormous wine potential. Pablo’s wine story began in 1995-1996, just after he finished his agronomy and oenology studies. Then, with the help of his father and brother, he decided to buy an estate in the highlands and plant it with vines. French grapes, but also old local varieties, which bear witness to the Valencian wine history (even if most of them are long forgotten). In 2000, Pablo produced the first vintage of his Alcusses (the name is a reference to an Iberian settlement dating 4 centuries BC). On the labels of the wines and in the boxes, we'll find the text of a small tin plaque dating from these times, found on the estate. It is written in paleo-hispanic. This is a way for Pablo to pay his dues to the culture of this beautiful region. Pablo’s ambition re-dynamised the whole region. Several other estates followed his example and started producing quality wines, in accordance with their terroirs and tradition. Pablo’s most important decision was the purchase of an old bodega on the mountainside. There they found a real treasure: nearly 100 dug-in amphoras in an almost perfect state of conservation. This is something really unique, all the more so as these amphoras are nearly 500 years old ! Pablo is experimenting with making white and red wines in them, and the results are encouraging. This estate’s future looks bright and the birth of Pablo’s first daughter, Carla, on March 8th 2011, only confirmed it.
Terroir:
Vineyards are divided between four fincas, on the northern flank of the Serra Grossa (“l’Ombria") and in the Alforins-Alcusses vale. The average altitude is 550 m. Most soils are very poor in organic matter - mostly sands, clay and limestone. The area is in a transition climate – this is what is called the pre-meseta, a link between the high plateau of Castilla La Mancha and the Costera valleys (Vall d’Albaida and Rio Cànyoles). The mountain ranges guide the wind coming from the interior (El Poniente) to the vineyard; the area also takes advantage of the humid breezes coming from the Mediterranean (El Levante), which gives the region some 600 mm of rainfall.