Celler del Roure

History Celler del Roure

Pablo Calatayud is like the exception that proves the rule. He has no family roots in wine. He is a newcomer in the profession, which is not really a bad thing in a region like Valencia, where it is better not to follow the « tradition » of high yields, low prices and bad quality. He was lucky enough not to be influenced by all this and to start with a sound basis. His family is active in the local furniture business but supports his project wholeheartedly. Since a few years, his wife Sandra has also been working on the estate. The vineyard is located in Clariano, Valencia’s hinterland, a region with an enormous wine potential. Pablo’s wine story began in 1995-1996, just after he finished his agronomy and oenology studies. Then, with the help of his father and brother, he decided to buy an estate in the highlands and plant it with vines. French grapes, but also old local varieties, which bear witness to the Valencian wine history (even if most of them are long forgotten). In 2000, Pablo produced the first vintage of his Alcusses (the name is a reference to an Iberian settlement dating 4 centuries BC). On the labels of the wines and in the boxes, we'll find the text of a small tin plaque dating from these times, found on the estate. It is written in paleo-hispanic. This is a way for Pablo to pay his dues to the culture of this beautiful region. Pablo’s ambition re-dynamised the whole region. Several other estates followed his example and started producing quality wines, in accordance with their terroirs and tradition. Pablo’s most important decision was the purchase of an old bodega on the mountainside. There they found a real treasure: nearly 100 dug-in amphoras in an almost perfect state of conservation. This is something really unique, all the more so as these amphoras are nearly 500 years old ! Pablo is experimenting with making white and red wines in them, and the results are encouraging. This estate’s future looks bright and the birth of Pablo’s first daughter, Carla, on March 8th 2011, only confirmed it.