Vins de Taller, E-Girona MB1029 by Leslie Hogan

Vins de Taller

Vineyards-Bordeaux presents a small Spanish biodynamic vineyard paradise

Ref. MB1029

• Location: Siurana d'Empordà, close to Gerona - Spain

Vineyard key points

• Total vineyard area: 6.5 hectares plus an additional 4 hectares of rented farmland

• Organic biodynamic vineyard estate with 31,000 vines – regenerative agriculture certified by the Catalan Organic Production Council (CCPAE) and the European Union

• Terroir: alkaline, with a slit-loam texture, made up of 47% loam, 36% sand and 17% of clay: 40m above sea level

• Grape varieties: Viognier, Syrah, Merlot, Malbec, Marselan, Grey Grenach, Cortese, Marsanne, Monastrell, Little Manseng, Moscatell of Alexandrie

• Excellent infrastructure and very well-equipped operating buildings of approx. 500 m² with winery, shop, production, storage, barrel store, office and service areas.

• Irrigation system sourced from a river with two natural water supply wells and a drip system via pump

• Total production per year of 56,000 bottles (2022)

• 1 legal trademark and 16 wine brand names

• Company EBITA has been positive over the last two years since the pandemic.

• 4,000 m² of outdoor client/visitor space with pergola, living area and car park

• Wine stock is included in the sale price (balance sheet value December 2022)

• Staff: vendor and 5 employees

Location

• 40 minutes from the French border

• 40 minutes to Girona airport

• 7 km to the Mediterranean

• 2 hours from Barcelona

• 2 hours 45 minutes from Toulouse

Vins de Taller

History

Empordà (Catalonia, Spain) wines have history and Alt Empordà is an area where the wine culture and tradition goes back to the times of the Romans, the first written documentation dates back to 1130 and has been found in the Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes. Nowadays this territory has been enriched thanks to the growing interest in wine tourism.

Vins de Taller is the culmination of the dream of a master gardener with expertise in botany and landscaping, a dream to transform a vacant lot into a lush garden and untended fields into vineyards.

Antoni Falcon and his wife Patrizia have been working with vineyards for over 25 years. A celebrated landscape architect, Antoni founded Vins de Taller in 2002 in Siurana d’Empordà, keenly aware of the enthusiasm and expertise required for such a project and the vital roles of patience and time in any process involving plants.

Vins de Taller started as a family business and later extended to a group of partners and friends who share the same philosophy. All of them, from liberal and creative professions, bring rigor, experience and new ideas to the common project, where wine excellence prevails over high volume production.

Summary

At the beginning located in a small garage (taller in Catalan), the cellar soon moved to a bigger one in order to face the success and the growing volumes. In 2018, in order to continue improving the quality of the wines and to reach the ambition to produce 50,000+ bottles a year, a new and sustainable cellar (el Celler Verde) was built.

Several grape varieties were carefully selected and are biodynamically cultivated on the 9 hectares of land, allowing to produce high quality and awarded wines. The wine range is quite large with white, orange, rosé, red and sweet wines, single variety or blended.

In 2022, 56,000 bottles were sold, generating close to 400,000 € revenue, growing 29% compared to 2021. The company EBITA has been positive over the last two years.

The new cellar investment has been financed with a long term loan and fresh inputs from new investors.

Now in his 70’s and at the start of a new growing phase, the vineyard founder and his partners have decided it is the right moment to bring the estate to market.

Company philosophy and Biodynamics

Antoni Falcon and his team work hand in hand with nature. They understood that it is not enough to respect their wine’s natural cycles but also must help them thrive.

Their techniques combine the best organic, biodynamic and agroforestry processes. From production to bottling, all Vins de Taller processes are organic, certified by the Catalan Organic Production Council (CCPAE) and the European Union.

They apply the principles of agroforestry, a technique rooted in the ancestral practice of combining various trees crops with the wines. This has multiple benefits: it improves the soil’s biological fertility by filtering rainwater; the tree roots reduce ground erosion: leaf and root decomposition increase the organic matter; it improves nitrogen fixation of the soil, it contributes to biodiversity by providing shelter for pollinator birds and insects, and it reduces crop disease by balancing out harmful insects and tree fungi.

Vins de Taller embrace the principles of biodynamic agriculture because the only way to obtain living soil is to nourish it properly. They strive to restore the soil’s structural and nutrient balance, supplying it with organic compost from the property and through neighbouring flocks of sheep.

They also adhere to the natural cycles of the moon when it comes to seeding, pruning, and other grape growing and winemaking tasks. For example, during a last-quarter moon, the roots are the most active part of the plant, so that is the best time to prune the vines.

The vineyard

Terroir

Each wine produced by Vins de Taller is the result of a long natural process that combines various factors: the terroir, understood as the combination of the soil and the climatic characteristics of the place, the genetics of each variety and finally the wine growing and fermentation methods used. All this defining the sensory characteristics, colour, taste, aroma, texture, etc.

Tucked between the mountains and the sea, the Vins de Taller vineyards are classified as Region III on the Winkler scale. The region’s natural wind is the Empordà Tramontana, with gusts that can reach 120 km/h speeds. Temperatures vary dramatically from day to night, especially in the forest vineyards. Rainfall is regular throughout the year, as is typical of the Mediterranean climate. Summers are generally quite dry.

Geologically, Vins de Taller is located in the Empordà basin, a tectonic depression consisting of a large compartment made up of various graben created by the action of large faults 25 million years ago during the Neogene period.

The vineyard soil is composed of alkaline, with a slit-loam texture, made up of 47% loam, 36% sand and 17% of clay. It appears greasy, fine-grained and compact.

Grape varieties 1

Several geobotanical factors were taken into account to select the grape varieties. Varieties from regions with similar climates were selected for use with wild rootstock, including both traditional varieties, such as Garnatxaf, Lledoner Gris and Syrah, and others still relatively rare in the region, such as Merlot, Malbec and Viognier.

Viognier: The difficulty of finding and growing this variety of white grapes makes it rare and highly appreciated. Its bright yellow colour gives the resulting wine of golden hue. The large amount of sugars and low acidity provide the wine with neutral flavours and high alcohol content.

Syrah: Red grapes resulting in good alcoholic red wines, suitable for high-quality aging, intense, very aromatic, fine and complex, with aromas of violet, tobacco and liquorice. Tannic, structured, the wines are not very acidic.

Merlot: Red grapes with a prolific wine. Provides intense red wines with purple touches. As they mature they become darker and more intense. Recommended to be consumed young or matured for a few months in barrels.

Malbec: Red grapes that provide purple wines with a sweet texture, with a great fruity expression, reminiscent of red fruits.

Marselan: This red grape variety is the crossroads between Cabernet-Sauvignon and Grenache. A variety of moderate vigour that produces perfumed wines rich in tannins, with aromas of ripe fruits or currants, among others.

Grape varieties 2

Grey Grenache: A variety of red grapes, also called Grenache. Versatil with qualitative potential, Empordà Grenache grapes give white, rosé and sweet wines. They are usually very pale wines with low acidity and a lot of body.

Cortese: Small white grapes, grown mainly in Piedmont. The resulting wines are typically Italian, with high acidity, a neutral flavour and quite delicate aromas.

Marsanne: White grapes giving dry white wines with aromas of walnuts; spices and white fruits. It gives structure and complexity to the vines.

Monastrell: A variety of red grapes, also called Mataro.

Little Manseng: White grapes variety native to the southwest of France with thick skin and small size. High concentration of sugars maintains a high acidity. With late harvest allows to make sweet wines.

Moscatell of Alexandria: White grapes with a large grain and great aromatic potential. It gives powerful, elegant and very floral dry white wines.

Operating Infrastructure

The operating infrastructure (500 m²) is in perfect condition and very well-equipped being completed in 2018.

• Winery

• Shop and showcase

• Production, storage, barrel store, office and service areas

Winery El Celler Verd

The winery, built in 2018, is an example of sustainable, biodynamic architecture and landscape integration. It was designed to have optimal geotechnical, climatic and environmental conditions to provide stable, homogeneous and aseptic winemaking environments.

Semi-underground, the winery is surrounded by a small Mediterranean wood and has a green roof to insulate the building and collect the rainwater used in the biodynamic applications and preparations.

The cellar of approx. 500 m² is composed of 3 areas, one in the middle for the vinification, one on the left for the handling and storage and one on the right for the offices, the shop and the tasting. A fourth space is also used for the barrel aging.

The open terrace and garden can also be used for events and space rentals, such as celebrations, presentations, meetings, filming or photographic sessions.

Product range and distribution

• Vins de Taller wines, rosé, orange, white, red and sweet, monovarietal or blended, are recognized with national and international awards. The bottles can be bought at the best wine shops and be enjoyed in the best restaurants of Catalunya.

• Spanish retailers trade Vins de Taller wines all over Spain and the wine is exported to: USA; Canada, France, Germany, China …

• The wines can also be bought at the virtual website shop.

Volumes bottles sold 2017 - 2022

Comments and tasting notes

Experiences and Space rental

• El Celler Verd can be rented for private or business events, ideal for celebrations, presentations, meetings, photography shootings, …

• The space can be adapted to all type of events. Various experiences can also be organized for visitors as premium picnics in the vineyards, horse riding etc…