Why it matters
The producer
Mas de les Moreres carries Celler de l’Era’s past and present in one house. Historical references date the property to the seventeenth century, although it may be older. Part of the house served as a guest house during much of the nineteenth century, and a chamber beside today’s tasting room was once a fermentation wine vat.
Celler de l’Era began its family project at Mas de les Moreres in 2002. Its wines carry D.O. Montsant, and the producer’s vineyard area is 72 hectares. Bri is a red from Montsant made from Garnacha, Cariñena and Syrah. Today the house contains the family project, the cellar and the tasting room, with Bri as its three grape red.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Mas de les Moreres sits in Cornudella de Montsant, Catalonia. The address is in Tarragona, Spain. Cornudella de Montsant is the village of the project, while D.O. Montsant is a designation of origin, a regulated regional category for the wines.
Bri is a red from Montsant. The bottle carries the wider regional name, while the producer remains tied to the specific farmhouse and village.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The producer presents six vineyard sites: La Plana, La Plana del Mas, Costers dels Barrancs, Coster de la Plana, Solanet and Coster de l’Era. Average production is 50,000 litres. Fermentation uses 17 vats ranging from 20 to 70 hectolitres.
Each vat holds must from one grape variety and one vineyard plot. Keeping those inputs separate preserves individual lots during fermentation, so the cellar handles plot and variety as distinct material before a blend is made. The ageing inventory comprises 45 French oak barrels of 500 litres and 10 American oak barrels. Bottles use natural cork.
Wines to know
The range in view
At vineyard level, Celler de l’Era presents individual sites. At bottle level, Bri is one of its best known red wines, a red from Montsant made from Garnacha, Cariñena and Syrah. The range has two concrete forms, named vineyard places and a multi grape red.
Across the producer’s wines, concentration and freshness combine with balanced power. Bri places those house attributes in a red made from three grape varieties.