Priorat is
a small area in Catalonia, a county where two different Designations of Origin
coexist: Priorat and Montsant, really very close but different.
A key
aspect is the soil: the basis of the Priorat soil is the slate (called llicorella in Catalan) with traces of
mica and the steep slopes. The main consequence is that the roots of the vines
need to reach the ground-water table because the slate doesn’t retain the
water.
In this
region, the vineyards are at different altitudes, from the 200 m the lowest point
up to 750 m above the sea level in places like Porrera, which can make a big
difference between the vines and grapes.
Also, the
climate is important: summer is a long season, hot and dry with great contrasts
of temperature, which can change from the 35-40ºC during the day to the 15ºC or
less at night. The winter is really cold
in this area.
So, the
soil, the height and the climate determine a charming landscape which
captivates you.
The result
of all these distinguishing marks are young
wines, deeply coloured, brilliant with persistent and serene aromas and on
the palate are chewy and full-bodied, with a long aftertaste. Often these wines
have a high alcohol content (between 14% and 15% abv), but with a well
integrated tannins and very well balanced.
The criança
and reserve wines are aged in oak
barrels smoothing away any aggressive notes due to their youth. In this way,
they obtain a complexity that only can be perceived through taste and smell.
In the
Priorat Designation of Origin you can find different kinds of wines depending
on where are they from: Single State Vineyard and vi de vila that we can translate as “wine of the village” because
the difference between villages (specially their geography and soil) make a big
difference to the wines). Both are precisions of some Priorat wines (in this
video http://vimeo.com/23003431 Álvaro Palacios, Daphne Glorian and also René Barbier
explain it very well... but in Spanish).

From Domaines Magrez Espagne we tasted two
wines: Sine Nomine 2007 and Herència del Padrí 2006, both are blended
wines with Carignan and Grenache mostly and little percentages of Syrah, Merlot
and Cabernet. These wines are very similar. They have been aging in new French
oak barrels for 18 months. On the nose you can appreciate ripe red fruit and
also on the palate, with a little bit of minerality typical from the slate
soils from the Priorat region, especially in old vineyards as these (that are
between 40 and 75 years old).
Sometimes,
the fame from the owners of the cellar precedes the fame of the wines. The
owners are Gerard Depardieu and Bernat Magrez (from Château Pape Clément, in Bordeaux).
Other of my
favourite wineries is Clos Dominic.
Two or three years ago I had the pleasure of visiting the vineyard and the
cellar in winter. At first I thought that it wasn’t the best season to visit
because when you go to the vineyards you only can see the vines that are
hibernating, but in fact you can perceive better many other things such as the
soils, the slopes, the difficulty of taking care of the vineyards, the big
challenge that every harvest brings on these slate slopes … at the end it
resulted in a very interesting visit. The wines that we tasted from Clos
Dominic were Vinyes Baixes and Clos Petó. Vinyes
Baixes 2009 is a red blend wine with Grenache, Carignan, Cabernet, Merlot
and a little percentage of Red Piquepoul that has been aging in oak barrels
during 16 months. In appearance it’s a clear wine, with glyceric legs and we
can appreciate how the garnet colour has lost intensity; on the nose the
toasted notes and the sweet spices (vanilla, chocolate) stand out from aging in oak barrels, also some herbal hints.
On the palate it is a silky wine, with soft tannins and a medium+ acidity. The
red ripe fruit is well integrated with the oak tinges and some mineral notes.
It’s a well balanced wine. The other wine is Clos Petó 2011, a blend wine too made mostly with Carignan (50%)
and Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that has been aging for 12 moths in
which the red ripe fruit stands out (on the nose and on the palate) with some
minty and sweet spices hints.
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From Sangenís i Vaqué cellar we tasted Lo coster blanc 2012, the other white wine
in the fair. It’s a blend wine made with white Grenache and Macabeu (a Catalan
indigenous variety) and a 5% of other grape varieties. The grapes come from a
40 years old vineyard. The wine has been aging for 8 months and the wine is
unfiltered and hasn’t been clarified. In appearance it’s not a hazy wine; on
the nose it stands out ripe green fruit, apple, pear, quince… and toasted hints
from the aging. On the palate it’s fleshy, well balanced. Dara 2008 has been aging for 12 months in oak barrels. With a
garnet colour, we can perceive red fruit and spice hints on the nose and on the
palate.
Another
cellar is Celler Joan Simó, which
took the opportunity of presenting the new wine Viatge al Priorat (Journey to Priorat) made mostly with Grenache
and with little percentages of Cabernet, Syrah and Carignan. The label is the imitation
of the old train tickets and it’s very appropriate if we think of the name of
the wine. The other wines of the cellar was Sentius 2008, with 15 months in oak barrels, and made with Grenache
(55%), Syrah (25%), Cabernet (15%) and Merlot (5%) it’s a smooth and supple
wine! And Les Eres 2008, a blend
wine elaborated mainly with Carignan and Grenache, and some Cabernet and Red
Piquepoul is a great wine that gives out ripe red fruit with mineral and
toasted hints that you can taste on the palate. It has ripe tannins and it’s a
full-bodied wine.
From the winery Celler
d’Encastell there were two wines: Roquers
de Porrera 2010, with 16 months in oak barrel and made basically with
Carignan and Grenache from old vineyards (between 70-90 years old), has a good
intensity and the black and red ripe fruit stands out on the nose and on the
palate and is well balanced. The other wine is Marge 2011, a blend wine with Grenache and Cabernet that has been
aging for 8 months in which and it is pure black fruit, cooked with sweet
spices and toasted hints from the barrel. Both wines have mineral tinges that
remind us that they are Priorat wines.
Another of the wines was Vinyes Velles
2011, from Ferrer Bobet cellar, a red wine made mostly with Carignan (70%)
and some Grenache that has been aging for 15 months. It is fresh and velvety,
with ripe red fruits aromas.
The last wine that we tasted in the fair was Ardiles 2007, from Merum
Priorati winery, it’s a blend wine (made mainly with Grenache and Carignan
and with some Syrah and Cabernet). The black fruit stands out with notes from
the barrels as vanilla and tobacco, also herbal hints typical in the
Mediterranean forest.
Next November, more!! See you in Porrera!
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