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Prizing finesse over concentration, Serbian-born vigneron Tatjana Peceric has a beautiful touch with Montsant’s high-grown Garnacha and Cariñena. Except for the skin-contact white Brisat, the wines are fermented as whole bunches in concrete, amphorae and stainless steel (no oak is used), and extraction is as gentle as possible. In the cellar, Peceric works with the infusion model—a buzzy term for sure, yet we should not forget that this kind of no-bells-and-whistles winemaking is scarce in this corner of Europe. In short, the grapes are gently crushed by foot and taken off their skins at between eight and 12 days to continue fermentation. “We don’t need to extract tannin,” says Peceric.
Another key to the style and quality here is that regulations allow for harvesting early for lower alcohol; minimum levels here are 12.5% for reds and 11.5% for whites (compared to 13.5% for reds and 13% for whites in the DOQ Priorat). This year’s Negre is a pure Garnacha, from mature vines sited around Capçanes. The 25-year-old (on average) bush vines sit at 350 metres on the mixed sandy clay soils (known locally as panal) with varied exposures.