Clos Galena: 25 years of a dream in Priorat

Salou. Costa Dorada. 12 October 2024. Twenty-five years ago, the pharmacist couple Miguel Pérez and Merche Dalmau began the adventure of producing organic wines in Priorat. Today, in celebration of this anniversary, the renowned winery Domini de la Cartoixa has presented Clos Galena 25 anys d'un somni 2022 (Priorat Qualified Designation of Origin), an exceptional wine like the 25 years of its history.

The winery is internationally recognised for the quality of its wines, as demonstrated by the fact that it was the first to serve a Catalan wine (Formiga de Vellut 2014) at the Nobel Prize dinner in 2017, and in 2023 in Paris it received the ‘The European Awards’ award for the winery of the year. But its connection to the territory where it is located is also part of its character, and that is why it is common to find its wines in many of the gastronomic activities that are organized in Salou or Reus.

The owner of Domini de la Cartoxia Clos Galena, Merche Dalmau, has chosen the Michelin star Can Bosch in Cambrils to present the Clos Galena 25 years of a dream 2022, and to review the history of the winery and its most iconic wine.

The dream and the Priorat

It was in 1999 when Merche Dalmau and her husband Miguel Pérez created their winery with a vocation for social and environmental sustainability and respect for the territory. From 11 hectares of their own vineyard in El Molar, which today are already 30 hectares, a completely innovative venture was born at that time.

Following the death of Miguel Pérez in 2013 due to cancer, Merche Dalmau took over the reins of the project, keeping her husband's dream alive, with the help of Toni Coca, the oenologist who has been the technical director since the beginning, and Enric Amorós, responsible for viticulture and the winery. In addition, one of her daughters, Cristina, has recently joined the project.

Since the beginning of the winery, the commitment to organic farming is certified by the Consell Català de Producció Agrària Ecològica (CCPAE). Thus, the vineyards of Domini de la Cartoixa Clos Galena are managed without the use of systemic fungicides, insecticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. Pests and weeds are prevented and controlled through traditional and natural mechanical methods, and fertilization is carried out through compost covers, green manure or animal manure.

The winery currently produces 155,000 bottles a year, divided into 95,000 DOQ Priorat, 50,000 DO Terra Alta and 10,000 DO Montsant, and exports 70% of its production to countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Clos Galena

In 2002, almost 22 years ago, its first two wines were marketed, the red wines Galena and Clos Galena, which have been produced every year except for the so-called climate change vintage, 2003, as it did not meet the quality standards required by the winery. The following year, however, it received 96 points from the North American publication The Wine Advocate, then directed by the legendary Robert Parker.

Now, to celebrate the winery's quarter-century, it has created a unique and unrepeatable commemorative wine: Clos Galena 25 anys d'un somni 2022, with a limited edition of 1,398 bottles made from grapes from five of its most special plots. Specifically, grapes have been used from Cariñena vines, which are around 80 years old, Grenache, between 45 and 60 years old, and Syrah vines, around 30 years old, all of them planted in the characteristic Licorella Priorat soil. A touch of Cabernet Sauvignon (1%) has also been added.

Each vine produces only between 0.5 kg and 1 kg of grapes, which makes its production very special. Harvested and selected by hand, the grapes of each variety are fermented and macerated separately. Finally, the blending is carried out, combining the different varieties, before the wine is aged in French oak casks for 12 months.

The 2022 vintage was chosen for this exclusive red wine, a dry vintage, in which three heat waves were suffered in summer, but which, thanks to the spring rains and the water reserves that the soil maintained from the Filomena snowfalls of the previous year, had good ripening and normal productions.

The result is a complex wine, where ripe fruits and Mediterranean undergrowth herbs stand out, subtly accompanied by sweet spices and fresh balsamic notes. On the palate, it is a friendly but persistent wine, with volume and smoothness. A red wine that begins its journey in a subtle and delicate way to develop all its character.

According to Merche Dalmau, Clos Galena 25 anys d'un somni 2022 is a wine that “celebrates not only our trajectory, but also the spirit of improvement and innovation that has guided the winery and the people who work there.”

The winery can be visited, with tastings included, by prior reservation.

Roce: the most casual and “rogue” rice in Cambrils