Clos del Rey

Twenty years ago, when the market for the fortified wines of Maury started to collapse, Jacques Montagué started to buy up the best old parcels of Grenache and Carignan he could find. He wanted the vines to have a future. Jacques’ son Julien works with him in the business and together they now have 50ha of vines. The quality found in Clos del Rey stems from the fact that father and son save the best 8ha for their own wines, selling the rest of their fruit to the local co-operative. In the cellar they use older oak and low intervention. Decanter’s Andrew Jefford describes the L’Aragone as ‘the greatest Carignan he has ever tasted’. If you need persuading that old vines make great wines, then look no further.

Roussillon

FRANCE

Jacques Montagne started the Clos del Rey in 2001.

The high-elevation vineyards southeast of the village, where much of their fruit grows, preserves freshness and warded off dehydration but produce enough juice to make wine.

This particularity combine to the wine making process of Montagne’s family make hight quality wines every year.

Clos del Rey turns out fantastic wines that are rich, fine, concentrated yet are not overdone. The balance is always there.

Viticulture

All the plots are naturally protected by the guarrigue (made of thym, rosemarie and cistes). The soil is composed of clay and limestone with lot of iron at 300m altitude. In the foothills of the Pyrénées Mountains, not far from the Mediterranean sea, Clos del Rey is situated in the centre of almost 900 acres in the tiny village of Maury. The estate has been owned and farmed by the Montagne family since 2001. The vineyard itself is nestled among a protected area of garrigues (rosemary and thyme). The vines of up to 120 years old are allowed to grow natural and untrained, in the old-fashioned way, known as the goblet or bush style.

Winemaking

The winery sits on an abandoned iron mine imparting red and orange hues to the soils of Clos del Rey, this Iron also adds a soft minerality and silky mouthfeel to the wines. Julien Montagne makes complex wines that truly represent his vineyards and his Catalan roots.