The wine is made from 100% Tempranillo grapes from isolated organically grown plots on the north-facing wooded slopes of the Prades Mountains in the Poblet Nature Reserve, right on the border of Lleida and Tarragona provinces. As the different parcels are located in 3 different areas (Les Garrigues, Priorat and Conca de Barberà), the wine is sold under the appellation “Spanish Red Wine”.
In the Prades mountains – at an altitude of up to 800 m.a.s.l. – you primarily find rocks, slate and calcareous clay, which give very mineral white, rosé and red wines. In addition, the long ripening of the grapes (due to the altitude and the large temperature changes between day and night) produces delicate, crisp and fruity wines. The vines obtain water and nutrients deep in the ground (dry farming), which produces more complex and mineral wines. The Tempranillo grapes are harvested at the end of September. After gentle crushing and de-stemming, the grapes are fermented in steel tanks and then matured for approx. 6 months in the same type of tanks, i.e. without the influence of wood, to preserve the fruity character of the grapes and the special “cool” style of the vineyards.
Tempranillo has a deep, ruby red color with a purple tinge. In the fragrance you will find fruity nuances of cherries, plums and a bit of blackberry as well as discreet, spicy notes. The taste is medium-concentrated, with good crispness and a rather long and rounded finish with notes of wild roses and mild spices. The wine is nicely tamed, with a good balance between fruity sweetness and cool tones, which reveal the cultivation at altitude. It can be enjoyed on its own, but it is especially good with, for example, vegetable dishes, light meat, pasta and white mold cheese. Is also a really good barbecue wine.
The Cara Nord winery in Conca de Barberà in Penedès was founded in 2012 by the pair of friends Tomàs Cusiné and Xavier Cepero. They shared a great passion for good wines, while they each trained in wine production and subsequently worked in the wine industry. The two friends decided to start their joint wine adventure, Cara Nord, in the high-altitude, rugged and relatively cool district, Conca de Barberà, where wine production can be a challenge. But their belief was that if you really put in the effort, you could in return achieve fantastic, precise, delicate and characterful wines here. They were not wrong in their convictions!
The vineyards are located at an altitude of 500-800 m.a.s.l. and the vines are up to 80 years old. Although the summers here at these altitudes are relatively cool in the wine sense, they are nevertheless quite hot, in addition to being long and dry. There is thus not much rain during the growing season, so it is of absolutely vital importance that the subsoil almost acts like a sponge, holding the rain that falls in winter and in early spring. The water is then slowly released to the vines during the long growing season. At the same time, it forces the roots of the vines to search deeper for the necessary moisture, which results in healthy and vigorous vines that produce concentrated and aroma-filled grapes. Large temperature differences between day and night and cool winds result in slow ripening and healthy grapes, and the increased UV radiation in the high-lying fields also results in grapes with a thicker skin layer, which acts as a protection against various diseases. The terms “Dry Farming” and “High Altitude Vines” make a lot of sense here!
The vineyards at Cara Nord are grown organically, and from vintage 2021 all their (DO) Conca de Barberà wines are certified organic. Among the grape varieties grown are Garnacha (Grenache), Syrah, Garrut (Monastrell) and Trepat for the red and rosé wines, as well as Macabeo, Chardonnay and Albariño for the white wines.
Production is very limited at Cara Nord, but the wines are simply impressive.
