Spain · Priorat

Cara Nord Celler

Three friends from Catalonia founded Cara Nord in 2012 on the north face of the Prades mountains, inside the Montsant appellation. Their three-wine range moves from a tank-aged white through two oak-aged reds, with Mineral del Montsant, a Carignan-led blend, as the estate's most serious bottle.

The producer

Cara Nord Celler sits on the north face of the Prades mountains in western Montsant, a position the three founders chose deliberately in 2012 when warmer sites were available. Tomàs Cusiné, an experienced figure in Catalan wine, was among them. At roughly 800 metres, the north-facing slope slows ripening, holds acidity in the grapes, and draws occasional Atlantic air across the ranges. The name they gave the winery is Catalan for north face, and it appears on every label they have made since the first vintage.

The range runs three wines, divided as clearly by cellar method as by grape. The Blanc, a blend of Macabeu, Chardonnay, and Trepat, rests three months on fine lees in tank with no oak. Both reds, the Grenache-Syrah-Garrut Negre and the Carignan-led Mineral del Montsant, spend six months in French oak barrels. Alcohol runs from 12.5% in the Blanc to 14% in the Mineral, a progression that tracks grape weight and site conditions rather than any push toward extraction. Mountain acidity and a mineral thread run through all three.

Known for

High-altitude Montsant reds built on Carignan and Grenache, with six months in French oak and a mountain-driven acidity and mineral character.

Notable facts

The story

Twenty Years Before the First Bottle

Three men who had spent more than twenty years talking about wine over other people's bottles finally chose a hillside for their own. The year was 2012. The slope they picked on the north face of the Prades mountains faced away from the sun that most Catalan growers would have considered an asset: at 800 metres, cool, shaded through much of the morning, open to Atlantic air when it crossed the ranges. The Prades position meant slower ripening, lower alcohols, and firmer acidity in every grape they would ever harvest there. They named the winery after the slope. Cara nord, north face. The name went on the labels and has stayed there since the first vintage.

From the atlas

Cara Nord Celler

At A Glance

The Producer

Cara Nord Celler occupies the north face of the Prades mountains in western Montsant, a position that says something deliberate about the people who founded it. Three friends, bound by more than twenty years of shared passion for wine, chose this high, cool, north-facing slope in 2012 when warmer sites were available. Tomàs Cusiné, an experienced figure in Catalan wine, was among them. The name they gave the winery is Catalan for north face, and it sits on every label.

The range is three wines: a white and two reds, each with its own cellar path. The elevation and aspect drive the style across all three. At 800 metres on a north-facing slope, grapes ripen slowly, acidity stays in the fruit, and the Atlantic air that reaches across the Prades gives wines a freshness unusual for Catalonia's Mediterranean interior.

Place

Montsant is a denominació d'origen that wraps around Priorat, Catalonia's most famous red wine zone. The two share ancient Carignan and Grenache vineyards and similar ambitions, but Montsant works with different geology: clay-slate and red clay-limestone rather than Priorat's llicorella, the fractured slate and quartz that commands premium prices. Montsant bottles typically reach buyers at a fraction of Priorat prices while drawing from comparable old vines and similar grape varieties.

The Prades mountains form the western edge of Montsant and push the zone higher and cooler than the valley floor. At altitude, the continental Mediterranean heat softens, Atlantic air occasionally crosses the ranges, and the ripening window extends. The wines from this sub-zone tend toward lighter colour, firmer acidity, and less sheer extraction than Montsant from the lower, warmer eastern villages. Cara Nord sits squarely in this cooler, higher expression of the appellation.

Soil And Site

The soils at Cara Nord split between clay-slate and red clay-limestone. Clay-slate holds moisture through dry summers and gives wines a mineral thread and firm acidity. Red clay-limestone adds body and supports the structural tannins that characterise the Carignan-led Mineral del Montsant. The north-facing aspect limits direct sun exposure across the growing season, slowing phenolic development and preserving the acid balance that defines the house style.

Story

The three founders had twenty years of friendship behind them before any vines were planted. That longevity shaped the kind of project they built: a small estate focused on the Montsant appellation rather than a scaled operation chasing Priorat's prestige at volume. The decision to site the winery on a north-facing slope at altitude was a farming choice with real consequences. South-facing sites at lower elevation in Montsant produce riper, heavier wines with higher alcohol. Cara Nord went the other way: slower ripening, lower alcohols across the range, more acidity in the glass.

Tomàs Cusiné brought wine industry experience to the founding. His involvement oriented the project toward micro-elaborations, treating each wine in the range as a distinct cellar proposition rather than a single house style scaled across different labels. The range divides the wines by cellar method: the white takes no oak and rests briefly on its lees; both reds take six months in French oak.

Vineyards And Cellar

The vineyards sit at roughly 800 metres on the north face of the Prades mountains. The altitude and aspect hold acidity in the grapes through the growing season, which shows in the alcohol figures across the range: 12.5% in the Blanc, 13% in the Negre, and 14% in the Mineral, a progression that tracks increasing grape weight and oak contribution rather than excessive ripeness.

In the cellar, the Blanc takes three months on fine lees in tank with no oak. Lees contact adds a faint creaminess to the texture and a slight breadth to the mid-palate without obscuring the fresh, floral character of the grapes. Both reds spend six months in French oak barrels, long enough to add spice and smoke without overwhelming the fruit. The Mineral del Montsant, with its higher Carignan proportion and greater extract, carries the oak more visibly than the Negre.

Wines

Cara Nord Blanc blends Macabeu, Chardonnay, and Trepat at 12.5% ABV. Trepat is a red grape from central Catalonia, used primarily for light rosés and sparkling wine in the Conca de Barberà appellation. Its appearance in a white wine blend is unusual: included in small proportion, it contributes aromatic lift without adding colour. Macabeu provides the structural backbone and Chardonnay supplies body. Three months on fine lees in tank gives the wine a slight textural roundness.

Cara Nord Negre blends Grenache (42%), Syrah (38%), and Garrut (20%) at 13% ABV. Grenache and Syrah are familiar Montsant grapes; Garrut is a Catalan variety also known as Morrastell, adding herbal and savoury depth to the blend. Six months in French oak introduces smoke and spice to a mid-weight, fruit-forward red. The 2022 vintage showed medium purple colour and a cooler character, with cranberry and eucalyptus alongside more conventional black fruit.

Mineral del Montsant is the estate's most structured wine: 66% Carignan and 34% Grenache, six months in French oak, 14% ABV. Carignan in Montsant comes from old vines and produces wines with firm, dry tannins, pronounced acidity, and a mineral grip that Grenache alone cannot deliver. At 66%, Carignan drives the blend. Grenache softens the frame and contributes raspberry and red fruit alongside Carignan's darker blackberry and spice.

In The Glass

The Blanc opens with floral notes, a combination of Macabeu's stone fruit character and the aromatic contribution of Trepat. The lees ageing gives a gentle creaminess on the palate that sits behind the wine's primary drive, which is freshness: lively acidity, mineral grip, and a clean, fruity finish. It drinks at 12.5% without feeling thin.

The Negre shows ripe black fruits on the nose with balsamic and mineral notes, a profile that places it firmly in Montsant's warmer register despite the altitude. On the palate it is soft, with good fruit weight and fine tannins, then smoke and oak spice carrying through to a long finish. The fresher vintages shift toward cranberry, liquorice, and eucalyptus, making the Atlantic influence at Prades more visible.

Mineral del Montsant announces itself differently: raspberry and blackberry on the nose with smoked and spice notes that deepen as the wine opens. In the mouth, the Carignan tannins are dry and present without being aggressive, the acidity stays firm, and the finish is long with lingering liquorice. It is the most demanding wine in the range and the one that rewards an hour in a decanter.

A Bottle To Understand It

Mineral del Montsant is the clearest expression of what Cara Nord does with its mountain site. The 66% Carignan gives dry tannins, firm acidity, and the mineral grip that connects directly to the clay-slate soils and high-altitude growing conditions at Prades. Six months in French oak adds smoked notes and spice, but the Carignan's natural grip keeps the wine from going soft. Raspberry and blackberry fruit sits at the centre, with liquorice and smoke at the edges, and the finish is long and dry. At 14% ABV it is the fullest wine in the range, but the acidity prevents any sense of heaviness. Start here to understand what north-facing mountain Montsant produces.

Anecdote

Three men who had spent more than twenty years talking about wine over other people's bottles finally chose a hillside for their own. The year was 2012. The slope they picked on the north face of the Prades mountains faced away from the sun that most Catalan growers would have considered an asset: at 800 metres, cool, shaded through much of the morning, open to Atlantic air when it crossed the ranges. Their friends probably asked why they had not chosen somewhere warmer. The Prades position meant slower ripening, lower alcohols, and firmer acidity in every grape they would ever harvest there. They named the winery after the slope. Cara nord, north face. The name went on the labels and has stayed there since the first vintage.

Final Word

Cara Nord Celler makes mountain Montsant at a moment when the appellation is gaining attention as the more accessible neighbour of Priorat. The three wines track a clear house logic: fresh and floral at the entry level, oak-framed and fruit-forward in the middle, Carignan-driven and mineral at the top. The north-facing Prades site does the essential work across all three, holding acidity and limiting alcohol in a region where the Mediterranean sun can push both quickly. Mineral del Montsant is where that work pays off most directly.

Sources

Open Cara Nord Celler in the interactive map →