From Penedès to Montsant: Albert Jané's path to the old vines
Acústic Celler is the personal project of Albert Jané, who comes from a winemaking family in the Penedès. His family has been running the Jané Ventura winery there for generations, which is known for traditional Cava and Catalan grape varieties. But Albert was drawn to a rougher, less known landscape: in 2003, he discovered the old Garnacha and Carinyena vineyards in the Montsant — and promptly bought his first piece of land, 1.5 hectares of Garnacha with vines from the year 1932. This beginning became a consistently built winery, which today has its headquarters in Marçà, embedded between the Mola and the Serra de Llaberia in the southern part of the region.
Instead of building a cellar first, Albert Jané systematically concentrated on the acquisition of old vine plots. The first harvest in 2004 still took place in a small warehouse in the village center of Els Guiamets. 2010 followed the move to Marçà, and in 2021 a new cellar integrated into the landscape was finally completed on the Finca l'Hostal on the outskirts of the village — built with natural insulation materials and year-round air conditioning.
Acoustic instead of electric: viticulture without amplifiers
The name says it all. Acústic stands for viticulture without technical over-shaping — just as music sounds more direct and honest without amplifiers. Albert Jané's conviction: his job is to care for the vineyards; the wines are created there, not in the cellar. All areas are managed organically. You will look in vain for international grape varieties here — the winery works exclusively with native varieties: Garnatxa Negra, Garnatxa Peluda, Carinyena, Macabeu and Pansal.
Today, Acústic Celler manages around 54 hectares of vineyards (of which 42 hectares are owned), distributed over sites between 300 and 700 meters in altitude in Els Guiamets, Marçà, Capçanes, La Serra d'Almos, Cornudella del Montsant and El Masroig. The soils alternate between sandstone, clay and slate. Albert Jané is considered an obsessive plot collector: every newly discovered plot of old bush vine stocks has its own character for him, which he wants to make visible in the wine. In the new cellar, there are 40 fermentation tanks, 300 French oak barrels, cement eggs and amphorae — a toolbox that enables precise work without over-extraction.
Garnacha, Carinyena, old slate: what makes the wines
The assortment of Acústic Celler comprises two appellations under one roof: the DO Montsant (Acústic line) and the adjacent DOQ Priorat (Ritme line). Both follow the same logic — old vines between 25 and over 90 years, small yields, restrained use of wood. The classic, the Acústic Tinto, combines Garnacha, Carinyena and Garnatxa Peluda, matured in barrels for one to three years. The Cuvée Braó relies on older selection and a higher Carinyena share for structure and depth. The flagship Auditori comes from centenarian Garnacha stocks and achieves a complexity that is internationally compared with the best Grenache wines. In addition, there are white wines made from Macabeu and Garnatxa Blanca, which are aged in wood and bring a surprising fullness for the barren mountain landscape of the Montsant.
What all these wines have in common: no cosmetic interventions, no international ingredients, no effect for the sake of effect. Powerful, but without forced volume — that is the style that Albert Jané has been consistently pursuing for over two decades.
