How are sweet wines made?

In ancient times sweet wines were produced in what is today Turkey and Macedonia. First, the Phoenicans and later the Greeks introduced this style to other areas of the Mediterranean where it has adapted to the different terroirs. Its latin name is pansum, wich means spread out.

At Cingles Blaus, we allow our grapes to dry on shelves indoors in Mas de les Moreres, where the stone walls guarantee the required dark and temperatures. While drying the grapes, we allow humid morning air to circulate and provoke a botrytis fungus attach on the grapes.

This method is similar to that used in Friuli and Veneto in northern Italy rather than in the south of Spain where, thanks to the climate, the grapes pansify on the vines. The result are incredible wines with concentrated aromas, flavours, and of course, terroir.

In Auri, we return to tradition and the time when farmers dried the grapes and made sweet wines to go with desserts and also gave energy to workers in the fields. A small offering to our ancestors adapted to the world of today. Auri is a sophisticated wine, for those who wish to remember the flavours of old dessert wines. It is a wine for the curious and for those who know this style of wines well.

Eloi Milá, wine-maker

• Name: Auri
• Harvest: 2006
• Varieties: Red Grenache
• Vineyard: Les Parellades. red clay and limestone soil, vineyard of Grenache and Carignan located at the foot of the Montsant Mountains, 675 meters above sea level.
• Wine-making: Grapes are gathered in the middle of October and laid out on timber and cane shelves for about 4 months. The temperature and humidity in the cellar dries the grapes and provokes botritis mould.
  At this time of the year the grapes dehydrate and the sugars and acids concentrate. The botrytis also dries the grapes and causes changes in the sugar molecules that intensify the flavours. Grapes are then destemmed, pressed and fermented, like a white wine. Fermentation is stopped when the wine reaches optimum alcohol and retained sugar levels.
• Ageing: 18 months in French oak barrels
• Tasting notes: Color golden yellow, aroma complex, notes of honey, flowers, citric fruit, forest floor, apple preserve, very personal and full of character. En boca Glyceric on the palate, fresh and personal, confirming the aromas with jam, citric fruit, honey, very complex and fresh. Balanced and persistent with a generous finish.
  A very original wine and quite different to other sweet wines from the area.
• Alcohol level: 15% vol. 75,5 cl.

Cingles Blaus S.L. - Cornudella de Montsant - Phone 977 326 080

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