Day Ten begins...Today was another beauty of a day, sunny and warm. It was also our last day of winery visits. We would explore the Priorat region, an area known for many exceptional wines. Our first winery would be Mas d'en Gil, a 125 hectate estate in the district of Bellmunt del Priorat. The estate has about 45 hectares of grape vineyards, as well as many olive trees.
The Rovira family bought the estate in 1998. They kept some of the old vine Garnacha and Carinena, as well as planting new varietals.
Our private tour began with a 4X4 drive into the vineyards, seeing the various varietals and vines. It is a beautiful property and they are certainly doing much to obtain the best grapes that they can. We even saw the olive trees, one of which you can see below.
As it was harvest time, grapes were being brought in to be sorted before starting the wine making process. We tasted some of the sweet and juicy grapes. They use much modern technology in their wine-making, seeking high quality, low production wines. 
French oak is used for aging of their wines.
Our private tasting was interesting as not only did we get to try several excellent wines, but we also got to see how different vintages can affect the same type of wine. We tasted their Coma Vella and Clos Fonta wines. For both wines, we tasted the 2002 and 2003 vintages. And there were definite differences.
The 2002 Coma Vella is a blend of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carinena, 20% Garnacha Pais, 15% Garnacha Peluda, 10% Syrah and 5% Merlot. It has an alcohol content of 14%. It spent 12 months in French oak. The goal of this wine is to make a more fruit driven wine that is accessible but which gains complexity over time. It is light red in color with lots of cherry fruit on the nose. There is also much cherry and plum on the palate. The finish is moderately long and it has mild tannins. There is also some mild spice on the finish though fruit predominates. I very much enjoyed this wine. 2002 was considered a wet vintage.
The 2003 Coma Vella is a blend of 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carinena, 20% Garnacha Pais, 20% Garnacha Peluda, 10% Syrah and 5% Merlot. It has an alcohol content of 14.5% and has spent 12 months in French oak. This wine differed from the 2002 as it was less fruit driven. Its nose had more black cherry smells. It was a bit more mineral on the palate with subtler fruit flavors. Its tannins were a bit more noticeable as well. Maybe with decanting this wine would open up more. I prefered the 2002.
The 2002 Clos Fonta is a blend of 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carinena, 25% Garnacha Pais, and 30% Garnacha Peluda. It has an alcohol content of 14.5% and has spent 14 months in French oak. This wine is designed to be more powerful and complex, a wine to savor over time. It is also a wine that benefits from decanting. This wine is darker red than the Coma Vella. It also has a more intense nose, with spicy notes of cinammon and anise. On the palate, this wine was silky, voluptuous and lush. It had a rich mouthfeel and subdued dark fruits with spicy overtones. It had a lingering finish that you do not want to end. It has moderate tannins. This was an exceptional wine. It is wines like these that makes Priorat outstanding.
The 2003 Clos Fonta is a blend of 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carinena, 25% Garnacha Pais, and 30% Garnacha Peluda. It has an alcohol content of 14.5% and has spent 14 months in French oak. In most ways, this wine was very similar to the 2002. But, it seemed just a tinge harsher than the 2002, which could just be due to it being a younger wine. I think if the 2003 sits for a couple years it would be just as compelling.
Mas d'en Gil also makes olive oil and a sweet vinegar, Agredolc, and we got to taste the olive oil. They call it Oli and it is an extra virgin olive oil made from the Arbequina variety from one-hundred year old trees. The oil was clean, light and very tasty. Just a perfect olive oil. We took some home with us and have been using it in cooking as well as just for dipping bread and have greatly enjoyed it. We have some Agredolc as well, but have not had the opportunity to taste it yet.
This is an excellent winery, making some great products. It is very much a family business and they seem to be passionate people. Besides enjoying their wines, they have also helped hook me on Spanish olive oil.
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