Priorat (vi de vila gratallops)

Celler Cecilio in Gratallops is made by Blai Ferré i Just, whose eponymous wines from Masos del Falset are also imported by TSA.

Celler Cecilio

This small family cellar started post-civil war when a Valencian soldier, Vincent Cecilio chose to stay in Gratallops where he had been garrisoned and hand fallen in love with a local woman. He supported himself by becoming a bodega worker in a local co-op. Later, in 1942, he began working on what became the family vineyards, now tended by Blai Ferre.

CELLER CECILIO ‘Blanco L’Udol’ 2017 Garnatxa Blanca

‘Cry of the Wolf’ is simply made, pure Garnatxa Blanca: after a 6 hour maceration it’s pressed  to stainless steel, and that’s it … 8 days on skins with lees, then done. 

Orange balm, cereal, straw, very fresh and dry, nice white floral-mineral with a savoury edge. Good full mid-palate softens with powdery white fruit tannin and a herbal balm tug, round but fresh.

CELLER CECILIO Garnatxa Negre 2016

60% Garnatxa Roja, 20% each Caranyena and Syrah, up to 40 years old. Hand-harvested, natural vineyard yeasts, a long, relatively cool fermentation in stainless steel, 24 day maceration, clarified, unfiltered. TA 5.6 g/l, 44 mg/l sulphites.

Loaded with balsam underscored by rocky llicorella, CC Negre has great life and nerve without being ‘busy’ at all. Vegetal, floral and balsamic highlights lift from open-hearted red fruits softly snuggled into sooty llicorella darkness on the nose. This turns out to be ultra-refreshing cool, steely minerality in the mouth.

CELLER CECILIO ‘L’Espill’ 2014

Vi de costers. An ‘Espill’ (Espejo in castellano) is a mirror, so named for the shiny reflectiveness of llicorella at midday. 65% Garnatxa Roja and Caranyena, stainless steel natural yeast fermentation, 12 months ageing in older French barricas, unfiltered.

Gently mature and open, really good mineral-steel tang in the teeth, briary with a touch of spice, wall of tannin, dark and spicy, but gentle and releasing with plenty of bracken on the nose. 

CELLER CECILIO ‘L’Espill’ 2013