The new Purgatori winery of the Torres Family has already started the activity with the vinification of the first batches of grapes. It is located in the municipality of Juneda, in the Lleida region of Les Garrigues.
Premiere with the same name as Torres
Thus, for the first time, this winery begins to produce the wine of the same name. An expressive Grenache and Cariñena wine that has established itself as the emblem of the Torres Family in Costers del Segre. The legacy of the Benedictine monks is recovered. They were already making wine in this inhospitable place in 1770.
Inside the winery are stainless steel and concrete tanks, built with earth from the farm itself. They will be filled in the course of this week and until the end of September. Grapes from the vineyard are used, in front of the winery. It is distributed in three different heights up to 550 meters. In addition, it has a drop of more than 200 meters.
Each plot will be harvested by hand at the optimum moment of ripening. It will also be processed by hand and separately, to preserve the integrity of the fruit.
The combination of steel, which enhances the fruit, and concrete, which favors a good maturation and evolution of the wine. It will make it possible to give it more complexity. Afterwards, the wines will age in French oak casks for between 15 and 18 months before going on the market.
Coinciding with the beginning of this vintage, the Purgatori winery was inaugurated this Monday, September 17. An endearing event chaired by Miguel Torres Maczassek, fifth generation of the Torres Family.
This is how one of the relatives tells it
For Miguel Torres Maczassek: “Almost twenty years ago we decided to bet on this extreme climate zone. Going back to planting vineyards, and over the years we have been able to verify the excellent adaptation of Mediterranean varieties. Like Grenache and Carignan. Purgatori is the first wine that was born from this vineyard six years ago.
With the inauguration of the winery, we culminated a very encouraging project that has led us to recover the old cellar of the XNUMXth century Benedictine monks ”.
A winery with history
The Purgatori winery has been built on the grounds of the historic Mas de l'Aranyó. Fully integrated into its surroundings, preserving the old building that had the Montserrat Abbey built two and a half centuries ago. Enhancing its wine history.
The new building, an elegant functional space built with noble materials. It connects with the old cellar of the first residents, under the old farmhouse. It has also been partially restored to fit a large tasting room.
The winery, which is open to the public under prior reservation, has been built with energy efficiency criteria. It has an installation of photovoltaic panels for self-consumption. In accordance with the Torres Family's environmental commitment. Their desire to reduce CO2 emissions to minimize the effects of climate change.
Characteristics of the vineyard areas
The Torres Family acquired the farmhouse and the 870-hectare estate in 1999, reintroducing vine cultivation. Currently, it has 200 hectares of certified organic vineyards, and 100 hectares of olive trees.
The continental climate, the marked temperature fluctuations between day and night. The distribution of the vineyard in three different levels, make this Les Garrigues estate one of the most qualitative of the Torres Family.
In addition to an excellent testing ground to study recovered ancestral varieties and to investigate the adaptation of strains to climate change.
