Selection of the vineyards

Christopher traveled to the Rhone Valley to visit a specialized nursery and select the vines that were then planted to American grafting. Local Grenache Noir was favored, also Syrah, Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier. An amusing anecdote related to the purchase of the latter vineyards is that two years after planting the Viognier in March 1998, Christopher received repeated phone calls from René Barbier asking how many Cabernet Sauvignon were purchased because the Cabernet grapes were supposedly not changing color! After careful examination of the leaves, it was discovered that almost all the Cabernet was Viognier! What to do? The supplier, who admitted a mistake, sent 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon vines free of charge. However, when the Cabernet vines arrived, the Viognier looked so healthy that it was decided to leave them where they were and plant the Cabernet elsewhere. As a result Clos Figueras has an excellent dry white wine composed of 65% Viognier complemented by Grenache Blanc and Chenin Blanc planted at a later date

In early 2000, a group of adjacent vineyard owners agreed to sell their estates to Clos Figueras. The transaction went through without difficulty, this gave us the opportunity to have old Grenache and Carignan which have since been an important ingredient for the prestigious Clos Figueres, the estate's main wine. Altogether we own a total of 18 hectares of one piece of which 12 are planted. The remainder are olive trees or slopes too steep to plant.

The final blend, with the different grape varieties, are chosen by Anne-Joséphine and Christopher Cannan with the advice of Alain Graillot (internationally renowned for his crozes-hermitage wines he makes in the northern Rhône Valley).

Also the estate has about 135 Arbequina olive trees that contribute to the production of the magnificent Clos Figueres Extra Virgin Olive Oil of the famous Arbequina variety with the control of the Siurana Denomination of Origin (DOP). Many of the trees are over 300 years old. The oil is bottled in an attractive 50 cl. bottle in a dark green colored container.

The vineyard has been planted in the vineyards

The vineyard has been cultivated with organic practices in mind and is now officially certified by the authorities (CCPAE). The vines are planted at different heights extending down to the Montsant river valley, in cool locations strategically chosen to delay the ripening of the grapes. The views over the wide valley of the Ebro and the mountains as a backdrop are breathtaking and, these protect from the cold north winds. Since March 2015 they have 3 spacious Bed&Breakfast rooms with views of the Priorat mountains