Joan d'Anguera's is a very unique project with great authenticity from Darmós, in the Ribera d'Ebre. It all started in 1820 when Joan Anguera, not the first-born son of Casa Anguera, established himself on his own. From his parents he received money and a house that was renamed, by his neighbors, Ca Joan d'Anguera. He was also given three estates always linked to the family through the figure of the heir (firstborn): L' Argatà, La Planella and El Bugader.
His son Josep expanded L’Argatà with the purchase of neighboring properties. Along with those inherited from him, he also worked almond and olive trees, although the main crop was always vines with a diversity of grapes, with Garnacha and Cariñena being the majority varieties. The wine was sold wholesale and the final destination was usually England or France. Josep Anguera Cedó had an only son, Josep, who died very young. He then godsonned Maria Llaveria Anguera, the granddaughter of her older sister, and made her his heir. Her marriage to Pere Anguera Castellnou from 'Ca Silveri', a house of large farmers in Darmós, was very beneficial for the family.
Pere Anguera Llaveria, María's son, was the one who carried out a great transformation in 1950. He built a new winery, an oil mill and bought the Mas de Pedret farm, of 12 hectares. And he continued to make wine for wholesale sale, which was highly appreciated by his buyers. Josep Anguera Beyme, son of Pere Anguera, made a large expansion in his father's winery. He added the three-hectare El Tancat farm to the property and some land adjacent to the winery for a new access. He preserved the old Grenache and Carignan vines and introduced other fashionable varieties at the time, such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1984 he began to bottle part of his production, first as a young wine, Joan d' Anguera, and then, in the nineties, he added the Finca L' Argatà aging wine.
After the death of Josep Anguera Beyme in 2000, his sons Josep (with studies in Agricultural Engineering) and Joan (in Oenology) took charge of the winery. They are the seventh family generation dedicated to the cultivation of their vines. They acknowledge that at first they followed the trend of the time, “with very structured wines, with a lot of alcohol content and a lot of wood” (as was the case of Syrah with some El Bugader Grenache).
In 2008 they began a total transformation in their vineyards. With the aim of making wines “in harmony with the terroir”, they chose the organic and biodynamic cultivation method to, finally, leave only native strains of Garnacha, Cariñena and Macabeo. And now they are once again rescuing their grandfather's way of making wine, with ripe grapes, with old barrels, with the complete crushing of the berries, with 100% stems, with long fermentations with indigenous yeasts and bacteria and with low percentages of added sulfur. They prevent partial carbonic fermentations from occurring. Today they are among the last in the Montsant area to harvest (years ago they were among the first).
Its vines are planted in lands with calcareous, sandy soil and Quaternary alluvial soils that receive a Mediterranean climate with continental influence. They are fragile and delicate lands, with a large number of old vines. Theirs is dryland viticulture. They work following organic and biodynamic agriculture certified since 2012, respectively, by the Consell Català de la Producció Agrària Ecològica and Demeter. They total 34 hectares of their own vineyards planted on four estates, from which they are completely self-sufficient. They produce around 65,000 bottles annually. They export 65% of their total production, with the United States and Belgium being their two main international markets, although where they sell the most is in Barcelona. And 100% of the electricity consumption of its winery on Calle Major de la Mata de Darmós is of renewable or high-efficiency origin.
Finca L'Argatà has always been its most iconic and extensive vineyard, occupying 20 hectares. Its Grenache vines were planted in glass between 30 and 50 years ago. They are located on slopes with silty, calcareous and sandy soil, facing north. Josep Anguera Pons affirms that the most important thing in this wine is “the land.” He remembers that many years ago his family already had all the year's wine sold before Christmas, as it was highly appreciated. They had buyers from Tarragona willing to pay more for wine from the L’Argatà estate. This meant that in Darmós there was never a need to establish a cooperative, according to Josep. The owner of the Cuvée 3000 distributor, Joan València, says that “the soils and climate of the area make the magic of obtaining low pH with high ripening of the grapes happen.” In the case of Finca L’Argatà 2021 the pH is 3.3.
They harvested their old Garnachas from Finca L’Argatà on October 6, 2021 manually, making a first selection in the field. 2021 was a good vintage, productive and with grapes with great health despite the cold, the rains during harvest time and the difficulties in ripening. They harvested at seven thirty on a cold morning in which the thermometer marked, at that time, 6º C. They did not destem. They practiced alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in concrete tanks. The stabilization was carried out naturally by decantation, with the help of the winter cold. The aging, in used French oak barrels with a capacity of 225 liters and 10 to 15 years old (which are not washed), lasted for about 24 months. They bottled unfiltered last Wednesday, January 24. The total SO2 is only 40 mg/l.
The new vintage from Finca L'Argatà, which has just been released on the market, is the first to be marketed without the protection of the DO Montsant. The regulatory board of this DO has disqualified the wine, alleging that the color and aromas do not correspond to the vintage. This has decided them to gradually and reluctantly leave the DO Montsant. They do it very annoyingly but without stridency or reproaches, although they regret that they will no longer be able to indicate on their labels that they are from Darmós.
Finca L’Argatá 2021 is a beautiful red color, and has a low layer. It is a transparent wine with its origin and variety, of great purity. In this red, what is truly important is the expression of the ripe fruit. It shows clear notes of cherries and somewhat liquorish red forest berries, and also of wild aromatic herbs such as rosemary. At the same time, it exhibits good acidity and tension, and delicate, round tannins. The aging in wood and its 14.5% alcohol are very well integrated into the wine. It is very garnacho, elegant, fine, tasty and easy to drink. Best enjoyed in a Burgundy type glass.
Josep Anguera Pons, who defines it as a “classic” wine, likes to pair it with a good rice with rabbit. His brother Joan says that he looks “great” with a capipota. And the distributor Joan València opts for a Ribera d'Ebre partridge with a warm and soft pickle, since he says it combines in a “fabulous” way with the maturity of the wine. And it is even ideal with a local clotxa (a round bread partially emptied of crumb; stuffed with herring, tomacons, onions and garlic, marinated and seasoned with a good extra virgin oil from the area).
