Half Moons welcoming the Garbinada (sea breeze)
The iconic image of Mas d’en Gil is that of the five hillocks which are half-moon shaped and close off the wide Coma Valley, caressed by the gentle Garbinada (sea breeze). These slopes, facing the rising sun, in summertime, make up an intensely green, wavy carpet. These waves, happily descend towards the woodland which protects the river bed of the Molins ravine. Molins means mill and there is still evidence of the old mills which served the village of Bellmunt and the surrounding villages of the Siurana River basin.
Altitude: from 300 to 330 m above sea level
Main Aspect: East and west
Area: 25 hectares (62 acres)
Climate
The “Garbinada”, a refreshing sea breeze blowing in from the nearby Mediterranean Sea easily reaches the “comas” or flat bottomed mountain valleys. Its effects are very beneficial: on summer afternoons, it lessens the effect of the summer heat and guarantees good grape ripening. The valley depths remain cool and this coolness rises up the ravines helping to balance the microclimate.
Terroirs
Fragmented and cool, the Llicorella (Slate) covers vineyard terraces and “costers” or the steep slopes of the “coma” (flat bottomed mountain valley) adding a mineral profile, characteristic of the best Garnatxa (Grenache) and Carinyena (Carignan) from Priorat.
Crops
Vineyards are the main crop on these curvilinear, flat bottomed valleys known as “comas”. Garnatxa (Grenache) is planted on the uppermost levels, Carinyena (Carignan) in the depths, filling the valley with plenty of quality vineyards. There are also some cereal crops and olive groves which cling to the ridges, adding a classic look to this farmland.
Areas
To the extreme north of this area, we find the old Mina Renània mine. It is part of the well-known network of Bellmunt mines. The Renània mine was sunk towards the end of the 19th century and closed very soon afterwards as it was not productive enough.
Wines
A large part of the grapes used for making our estate wines come from the “Coma” or flat mountain valleys. The wines are known as our red Coma Vella and our white Coma Alta.
