Cullerot

When Pablo Calatayud founded Celler del Roure in 1995 he chose as its setting an ancient country estate outside of Moixent. For centuries this was an integrated farm producing grain, almonds, olives, and grapes with unsubtle evidence for the production of olive oil and wine – a large, stone, olive press and extensive subterranean cellar with dozens of intact 17th-century amphorae. It took a few years of research and restoration but Pablo is using these clay vessels to make wine once again. Cullerot, which means tadpole, is the white that Pablo makes in the old cellar utilizing heirloom and indigenous varieties including Macabeo, Malvasía, Pedro Ximénez, Verdil, and others. The goal is to base the wine on Mediterranean varieties best suited to the region – varieties that fully ripen with more modest alcohol levels.