Celler del RourePablo Calatayud
In 2006, on acquiring the Les Alcusses estate in Moixent, in the Terres dels Alforins of the DO Valencia, Pablo Calatayud discovered underground a seventeenth-century winery with nearly a hundred intact clay jars. From that find are born the Vins Antics: made exclusively with almost vanished native varieties —mandó, arcos— and aged solely in jars, without passing through wood. Natural wine of territory, living archaeology.
Terres dels Alforins, D.O.P. Valencia, Clariano subzone. The Les Alcusses estate, between 550 and 700 metres, with sandy-loam, clay-limestone and limestone soils, and vines between 20 and 40 years old.
- Certified organic farming on all estates
- Classic Wines: monastrell base, aged in barrel and French oak foudre
- Ancient Wines: native varieties (mandó, arcos, garnacha tintorera, verdil, macabeo, malvasía, tortosí, merseguera), ageing exclusively in clay jars of 600 to 2,800 litres
- Hand harvest in 15 kg crates, native yeasts
- Active recovery of the mandó since 1999 (massal selection)
Right on the estate rises the Iberian settlement of La Bastida de Les Alcusses, an archaeological site from the 4th century BC where winemaking remains have been found showing that wine was already being made more than two thousand years ago. Pablo Calatayud claims the continuity of a millennia-old winemaking tradition in one of the most singular wine landscapes of the Valencian Country.
The collection at Terroir Radical
The pinnacle of the winery. Two almost extinct native varieties —Arcos and Forcallat— at their maximum expression. Named after the pebrella (Thymus piperella), an aromatic herb endemic to the territory. Parker 95+ pts.
Pale, luminous garnet colour with purple tones and subtle reflections. Very mineral, complex nose with memories of black pepper, dried flowers, violets and very delicate wild red fruit. Fluid, tense, subtle palate, fine, elegant tannins of great finesse. Long, fresh, markedly spicy finish. 50% Arcos and 50% Forcallà from Moixent.
Editorial note
Pablo Calatayud has been working for decades with native Valencian varieties that the industry had abandoned — Mandó, Verdil, Mando, Forcallada. It is not a commercial bet: it is a conviction about the territory. Celler del Roure is in Moixent because the limestone rock and the dry farming of this strip between the Costera and the Vinalopó cannot be simulated. I have been lucky enough to coincide with him in Ontinyent and to have conversations that have taught me a lot. Few people understand so well why a variety grows where it grows.
— Terroir Radical