Remei Castle (cat. Castell del Remei) and its wineries
Its history as enclave focus is dated back to almost 2,000 years, during which Castell del Remei has been denominated Choris, Cortis, Tower of Cortesa, Tower of n’Eral, Tower of Obispo and Tower of Remei. Furthermore, it has been property of the County of Urgell, the bishop of Solsona and, since the beginnings of 80’s of the XX’s century; it belonged to the Girona’s family, representative of the high Catalan bourgeoisie.
It was also really important for the construction of the Urgell channel.
During the XX’s century, it built the major irrigation’s finance of Catalonia with the incorporation of technical advances from the Industrial Revolution, which can still be seen nowadays: a mill, a distillery, a cooperage for the ageing of wine and a smithy.
Many years ago, historic documents about Castell del Remei, had information related to bandits and witches. Discover Castell del Remei, the legend. A story passed in XI century, recommendable to children from 8 to 12 years old.
The Castell del Remei is built on an old building which by the end of the XIX century, the Girona family, representative of the Catalan high bourgeoisie, conferred the castle structure by adding the characteristic four battlements. In 1939 suffered the effects of the explosion of an ammunition dump while the affected parts were rebuilt immediately. The patio and the noble floor, which still contains furniture and decoration, moving us back on time.
The building is square with a tower on each angle. It has three floors with a wide distribution. The patio welcomes visitors and has interior access to the chapel with modernist style and decorated tiles on the walls. The noble floor is composed of large rooms that communicate with each other, named the Mirall (Mirror) hall, the Estiu (summer) hall, the Victoria hall and the Bisbe (Bishop) hall. There are 33 bedrooms, apart from halls, kitchens and bathrooms.
Pedestal votive roman
The old piece epigraphic of Castell del Remei corresponds to the period of the High Roman Empire and was found in 1743 in this area.
It is of yellow marble calcareous stone and it has an irregular cubic shape of between 65-68cm (width) x 63-66 (length) x 75-78 (height). The translation of the Latin inscription means: Attila Lucilla, daughter of Spurs, Antony Nachus to his wife.
Currently, the exhibition hall of the winery is named in tribute to Attila Lucilla who was the first owner of Castell del Remei, according to Dr. Jaume Mateu Giral, author of the book El Castell del Remei, terra, aigua i cultura del vi a la plana d’Urgell.
Some of the publications that refer to the pedestal are:
– Sumario de las antigüedades romanas que hay en España. Juan
Agustín Ceán-Bermúdez, 1832
– Notas. Pita, 1968
– Epigrafía romana de Lérida. Federico Lara Peinado, 1973
– Inscriptions Romaines de Catalogne II. Lérida. Fabre, Mayer, Rodà;
1985
– Història de les Penelles 1084-1984. Francesc Amorós Gonell, 1984
Sanctuary
The temple, architectonic piece of Antoni Fisas Planas, is an important sample of Italianized classicism which contains magnificent mural paintings of the artist Josep Obiols Palau. Offering guided-visits, complementing these with visits to the historical cellar, inside the following time-hours:
Monday to Friday, from 9.00 to 14.00 and from 15.00 to 18.00
Saturdays: from 10.00 to 18.30.
Sundays: from 10.00 to 14.30
Closed: 25th and 26th December and 1st and 6th January.
Restaurant
The restaurant inside the property of the Castell del Remei offers a traditional home-made cuisine, from Catalan land and elaborated with nearby products, paired with wines from the property and others from the Tomàs Cusiné group.
Apart from the menu, during the work days are a week menu. The restaurant also offers banquets of celebrations and weddings with wines from the cellar proposed by sommeliers.
The menu has dishes without gluten, appropiate for celiac people.
The restaurant is open at lunchtime, closed on Tuesdays. Other options can be arranged.
Wine Cellar’s Visits
The centenary wine cellar is accessible for guided-visits. For enjoying it, you have to reserve it previously or request it at the wine shop.
During the itinerary, visitors wander through the ancient and actual installations from the reception of grapes to the expedition of the final product, room of winemaking, warehouses for wine ageing, room of bottling and tasting room.
Offering: Wine tasting for groups visits, pedagogic visits for students, courses for initiating the taste of wines.
Schedule: 10:15; 11:30; 13:30; 16:30
Preferably with previous reservation, other hours can be arranged.
Price:
Visit with taste of 3 wines: 10 €/adult
Visit with taste of 1 wines: 5 €/adult
Visit: 2 €/adult
How to get to?
Lleida province, Catalonia, Spain
From Andorra: N145, C14, LV3028, LV3344
From Lleida: С13, C53, LV3344
