Albert Jané is a passionate winemaker who is considered to be one of the pioneers of the D.O. Montsant region, in Spain.
Coming from a winemaking family in the heart of Penedes, Albert had full confidence in the Do Montsant regionI had the pleasure of meeting him recently at a wine tasting event organised by La Buena Vida.
The name of the winery ‘Acustic’ reflects not only the style of wine but also Albert’s philosophy of winemaking. He told Food and Wine Gazette that he likes to make great wines from exceptional vineyards. “It is the grapes and the weather conditions which express the history and reflection of a region and not the winemaker. I firmly believe that wine is made in the vineyard not by the winemaker,” he tells me.
“Wine is pleasure, emotion and passion,” he tells me. “When you take a good bottle of wine and listen to what it tells you, it gives you a similar feeling to music. That is why I have used ‘acustic’ for the winery. “I like to think of my wines as being like unplugged music.”
His family Jané Ventura have been in the wine business since 1914 and although he studied veterinary medicine, he was mentored by his father Benjami where he learned the respect for the land and how to make quality wine.
He worked in the family winery until he was 33 years old but fell in love with the landscape, the varied terroirs and ancient vineyards of Montsant. He decided to leave the family business and start his own winery Acustic Celler.
In 2003, he started to buy very old vineyards around D.O. Montsant and he produced the first wine in 2004.
He tells me that most of the vineyards he has are very old and extremely rich in their capacity to produce great wine. He uses only indigenous varieties from the Region for his wines and the vineyards range in age from 40 to 100 years old.
“I wanted to move away from the style of Penedes which focused on French varieties. Step by step I developed Acustic. The wines are organic since last year.”
Three years ago, he is also started working in the Priorat region of Spain. “I want to use the same philosophy I have with Acustic Celler to make similar wines there. I spend my time now between one region and another though I still spend more of my time in the Acustic winery.”
It is obvious that Albert is happy and extremely proud of what he does. “Winemaking is a way of life. I am really happy. This is a way of life. I have to travel a lot but I am here with my young daughter and son and extremely happy with what I do.”
Although it is evident that winemakers and their philosophy are important in the end result of the wine, Albert believes that ‘we humans are not at all important. What is important are great vineyards. A great wine is an expression of great vineyards.”
We taste the wines together. They are poured by his seven year old son who knows exactly how much he has to pour in each glass. The wines I try are all exceptional. This is really a winery you should take note of.
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