Mas Igneus

Mas Igneus Labels Mas Igneus is one of the newer cellars in the Priorat region, fruit of a joint venture between the Poboleda Cooperative, Albet i Noya and Voed. It is the first Priorat cellar to produce organic wines, and is unique also as one of the few private sector / cooperative ventures in Catalonia. Mas Igneus produce three organic wines (all called "FA" followed by a number) and two non-organic wines under the Barranc dels Closos label.

Poboleda, like most of the Priorat, was a seriously depressed area, and few vines were being planted in recent years. Two years into the Mas Igneus venture they expect 20.000 new vines to be planted this year, seven times the average for recent years.

One of the fortunate offshoots of this position, is that the land currently cultivated for Mas Igneus has a very high proportion of older vines - particularly Carinyena and Garnatxa - many of which are between 60 and 100 years old. The combination of these factors with the local climate and soil characteristics (slate based llicorella (right) and clay soils in the valley floors) contribute to very small yields with high concentrates of polyphenols - ideal for producing high quality red wines. Mas Igneus base their wines on these varieties, with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.

On the steep slopes of the Priorat, vines are grown either on "Costers" or "Terrasses". Coster refers to vines planted directly on the slopes without terracing. Some of the vineyards have gradients up to 45%, meaning much of the (already scarce) rainfall runs off without being absorbed by the soil.

Organising the land into terraces is the traditional solution to work hillside terrains. It provides slightly better water absorbtion characteristics than the "Coster" system, but less so than the vineyards in the valley floors that enjoy both the most fertile soil, and higher soil humidity.

These vineyards are particularly difficult to cultivate organically (ie without using synthetic pesticides or herbicides). On a flat vineyard you simply plough the land frequently to control weed growth (which absorbs precious moisture - this area only receives around 350 litres per square metre annually - roughly half that of the Penedès). On a vineyard with a 40% slope this is much more complicated. Mas Igneus has solved this problem by acquiring a small caterpillar - type tractor that can work on these slopes, and ploughs the vineyards on behalf of the individual farmers a number of times each year. Additional growth is removed using "strimmer" - type cutters. On the other hand the very low rainfall means that it is rarely necessary to treat for Oidium or Mildew. Each vineyard is marked with a sign showing the owner, the varieties and type of rootstock, and the year the vines were planted.

If the vineyards and their cultivation provides one of the keys to the quality of Mas Igneus' wines, the other is in the winemaking process and the use of wood. The different wines are produced from different vineyards: The top of the range FA112 is produced almost entirely from "Coster"-type vineyards that produce grapes with the highest concentrations, FA206 is made of a combination of Coster and Terrassa vineyards. Grapes are picked using 25kg boxes, with yields of around 1500kg per hectare. As each lot enters the winery it is tested for sugar content, acidity etc. This is followed by a destemming and long period of maceration / fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks without any addition of sulfites (up to 37 days in the case of the 1998 harvest). At the end of this period the wine is decanted into separate tanks for a period of two months during which it stabilises, and the majority of sediments naturally precipitate out. Lluis Manel Barba, the Mas Igneus oenologist describes his job as "keeping an eye on the wine" rather than intervening actively during these processes.

The wine is then ready to be moved to the French oak barrels that give the different Mas Igneus wines their names. The reds FA112 and FA206, and the white FA104. FA refers to Fusta Allier, Catalan for "Allier Wood" whilst the numbers refer to the age of the barrel, and the months spent in it. Hence 112 and 104 are 1st year barrels, with the wine 12 and 04 months respectively. The FA206 spends 06 months in 2nd year barrels. At the end of the ageing process, the wines are lightly filtered prior to bottling, but no additional fining agent is used. On bottling, a slight sulfite correction is added within the limits permitted by the organic regulations of the CCPAE, the Catalan agency for Organic farming. The limit is currently at 80-100mg per litre of wine.

1997 was the first vintage released by Mas Igneus, with a production of around 13.000 bottles of FA112 and 26.000 bottles of FA206. Both wines are currently available at the above links. During our visit to Mas Igneus, we were able to taste the extraordinary 1998 vintage, both the recently bottled (as yet unreleased at the time of writing) Barranc dels Closos and FA206, and barrel samples of the FA112. Despite being very recently bottled, the wines were already very approachable, and bode great things for this vintage. The large percentage of Carinyena in these wines distinguishes them slightly from other Priorats whilst retaining many of the mineral tones typical of the region as a whole. Next spring we hope to have some of the excellent white FA104 available, as the entire 1998 vintage has already sold out.

Many thanks to Lluis Manel Barba for taking time out to show us the vineyards and patiently explain the whole process. It was particularly eye-opening to actually visit the vineyards and see what extreme conditions the region boasts. Only wines of this quality can justify working such vineyards, and Mas Igneus is already establishing itself amongst the consolidated names in the region.


		Mas Igneus FA112 2000 D.O.Q. Priorat - Click here for cellar profile Garnatxa, Carinyena, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot EUR28.00


		Mas Igneus FA206 2004 D.O.Q. Priorat - Click here for cellar profile 80% Garnatxa, 20% Carinyena EUR13.75


		Barranc dels Closos 2004 D.O.Q. Priorat - Click here for cellar profile Garnatxa, Carinyena, Cabernet Sauvignon EUR9.95