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Clos Figueras Winery Guide

Cellar Tours Insight — Since 2003, Cellar Tours has planned private wine journeys through the world’s leading wine regions, pairing tailor-made itineraries with VIP winery visits, fine dining, and expert regional guidance.

Winery Overview

Although this small but imposing property dates only from 1997, Clos Figueras has taken its place as one of the leaders in this exciting and constantly evolving appellation. The talented entrepreneur and wine distributor Christopher Cannan was one of many individuals who helped transform this formerly overlooked region into one of Spain’s most important wine areas. His energy, commitment, and drive were remarkable, as he constantly strove to push the boundaries of what could be achieved in this once-forgotten corner of Catalonia. Priorat’s viticultural history stretches back centuries, but it was only when a group of enthusiasts rediscovered the area’s virtues in the late 1980s that the region began its modern rise to international prominence.

Clos Figueras was founded in 1997, although Christopher Cannan had, in fact, been exporting top Priorat wines through his company Europvin since the 1980s. After years of extolling the virtues of this great region to wine lovers across the world, Christopher and his wife Charlotte decided to invest in an abandoned vineyard just north of the town of Gratallops. With the help of dynamic estate owner and winemaker René Barbier – one of the founding figures of modern Priorat – they set about restoring and replanting the original 10-hectare estate on the famous Priorat slate soils known as “llicorella.” In 2000, Clos Figueras acquired another eight hectares of adjoining land, bringing the property to 18 hectares and adding valuable parcels of old Garnacha and Cariñena. After initially releasing Font de la Figuera in 1999, the 2001 Clos Figueres vintage earned 96 points from wine critic Robert Parker.

Today, Christopher and Charlotte’s daughter Anne-Joséphine Cannan is at the helm of the family estate. The flagship Clos Figueres remains a superb example of old-vine Garnacha and Cariñena, producing wines of depth, weight, and every other dimension! Font de la Figuera and Serras del Priorat complement their star wine with more approachable expressions of the estate and its llicorella soils. Then there is the stunning white Font de la Figuera Blanc. A fascinating blend of Viognier, Garnacha Blanca, and Chenin Blanc, it remains one of the estate’s most distinctive wines. And if this wasn’t enough, Clos Figueras has its own restaurant, produces extra virgin olive oil from its Arbequina trees, and offers a small bed and breakfast alongside its winery in Gratallops.

Priorat Wine Tour

Priorat Wine Tour

Discover Priorat on a private, chauffeured wine tour, with carefully arranged visits to leading estates, dramatic vineyard scenery, and time to enjoy the region at a relaxed pace.

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Author

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With a passion for food & drink that verges on the obsessive, wine writer James Lawrence has traveled the world in search of the perfect tipple. To date, nothing has surpassed the 1952 R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Rioja Reserva, tasted in the cobweb-filled cellars with owner María José. Meanwhile, James has written for a wide variety of publications, including The Telegraph, Decanter, Harpers Wine & Spirit, The Drinks Business, and Wine Business International. He lives in South Wales and returns to his former university city, Bilbao, as much as possible.

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