500 years of history hosted Íñigo in 1522
The Heretat Oller del Mas today has more than 1,000 years of history, and, therefore, as early as 1522 the family was able to welcome Iñigo in his castle during his time in Manresa. Evidence of the family’s devotion to Saint Ignatius is the 17th century family chapel dedicated to the saint. Generations have followed one another in the castle, but the chapel has remained in the same place. Ignatian pilgrims pass by the castle, which opens its doors to invite them to have a glass of wine, if they have time to enjoy it.
The medieval castle, that dates back to the 10th century, breathes the captivating history of the Oller family: knights, noblemen, religious men and master craftsmen who have left their mark on the country’s history. The portraits of Joan, Bernat, Jeroni, Jaume, Bonifaci and others Oller, painted in the Middle Ages and still hanging today on the castle walls, certify this unique story. A story that now, more than 1,000 years later, continues to be written with extraordinary wines.
Today, the Margenat family is the heir to an ancient history. They preserve it with love and work with passion to marry it with the modernity of the new times. The pilgrims pass through its vine fields and contemplate Montserrat from their lands, as Íñigo de Loyola did so many times between 1522 and 1523. A year of his life in which, in all certainty, he visited the inhabitants of the castle of the Oller del Mas.
On the family crest, three pots of gold appear on a red background. And is that Oller, means “he who makes pots.” For this reason, in the middle of the vineyards there is a 13th century dry stone oven. An oven that in the 21st century has been re-lit, to make new pots with the clay from the farm.