Espectacle del Montsant

Founded by Rene and Isabelle Barbier, Fernando and Marta Zamora, and Charlotte and Christopher Cannan, Espectacle del Montsant offers a unique Grenache to Spanish wine thanks to 100+ year-old vines on the Montsant appellation. Since its inception in 2004, the estate has consistently received high scores from reputable critics and publications like The Wine Advocate, which labeled the wine "as pure an expression of Grenache as exists anywhere on the planet." With such widespread acclaim and low bottle production, Espectacle has earned a reputation as a "nectar of the gods" in Spain. 

Montsant is a wine region in Catalonia, northern Spain. The gently undulating area was formerly categorized as a viticultural sub-zone of Tarragona, but local growers felt the high-altitude vineyards here earned the region recognition as a DO in their own right. As a result, the Montsant DO was created in 2001. 

Espectacle is located on the highest elevation in the Montsant appellation, containing a dramatically sloping hill on the northern edge of the appellation. The vineyard is quite small - only 5 acres - and is tended to by Rene Barbier and the Clos Mogador team who handpick each grape and transport the final selections to the winery. Once arrived, the selection is chilled for 24 hours, destemmed, and then sorted. The estate's maceration and fermentation processes last for 30 days in a special 4000-liter oak vat at Cellar Laurona, then left to age for 14 to 16 months in the same oak vat. 

Very small productions are released for each vintage, with only 5,000 bottles made available. Consequently, each Espectacle del Montsant vintage is highly sought-after and difficult to obtain in the wine market. Furthering this is praise from critics like Robert Parker, who has only failed to score the wine below 96 points three times out of the seventeen rated in his publication! The estate has received similar praise from Vinous magazine and James Suckling, who have each noted the peppery flavors and nimble mouthfeel of the wine.

The 2010 and 2012 vintages are standouts for Espectacle del Montsant, living up to the high standard set by the estate. In their review, The Wine Advocate stated the 2010 bottle was "superb, world-class Garnacha: spectacular!" Similarly, they stated about the 2012 vintage, "There is no rush to drink this, but it would be hard to resist it, as it's so hedonistic and beautiful right now..."