After more than 30 years recovering ancestral varietals, we have managed to identify small oenological gems capable of adapting to climate change. It is exciting when, finally, after so many years studying and getting to know these varietals little by little, we manage to materialize them in wines that reach the consumer, beyond experimentation. Clos Ancestral 2019 is the new exponent of this exciting project, an organic red wine from Penedès that incorporates for the first time the Moneu varietal, originally from this wine-growing region, the oldest in Catalonia and our homeland. It is a blend of autochthonous varietals, specifically Tempranillo, Garnacha and Moneu, mainly from the historic Castell de la Bleda estate.
Moneu is one of the six ancestral varietals that we are focusing on, of the more than 50 that we have recovered. The others are Forcada, a white varietal planted in the mountains of the Penedès and from which we make a small production for high-end restaurants; the Garró and Querol, which are part of one of our most emblematic wines, Grans Muralles, in Conca de Barberà; the Gonfaus, planted in the historic Purgatori estate, in Costers del Segre; and the Pirene, which we grow in our highest vineyard, in the Pre-Pyrenees, in Tremp, at an altitude of 950 meters above sea level. I trust that one day not too far away, we will also be able to taste these last two varieties.