[)¡ CAN TE R PROMOTION DECANTER RECOMMENDED PRIORAT .-111 P1SSARR.E PR IO RAT Costers del Priorat Fina Son, M>rtI 43738 Bellmun, del Priora, TI,"""" Web ~ WWW.COSl~prioralcom 0034618201473 UK 1rnp<><Ur: l.ooIOOa ro.. UK Imponer/dbtnbu'or 2013 FERRER BOBET V1NYES VELLES PRIORAT-- - Ferrer Bobet Web: W'WW. ~Lcom E:~orn UK Imponer. H2V\N Web: www.h2vJn.co.uk1 T:020 1478 7376 paco , garcla ~ ~ RIOJA 1011 CR IANZA 2011 D0tX co".UJ DI VUfyU VILLU Bodegas Paco García C " t aVento. SI " , n PRlORAT L6 ,M~ ae AJo Leza LA RlOJA SPAI Tet +34 941432 3n Mas Dolx f ma,t. ~fo4!bodcgaspacogarcoa.com Web; W'W'W.mudobt.com UK Imponer: WNW bodegaspacogaroa.com OWLoeb Wltter KOGARCIAWI ES ++4 20 nJ4 0385 Dernnter PANEL TASTING Priorat For gutsy, spicy individuality and a true sense of place, the new breed of wines from this rugged Catalan territory are well worth discovering, says Sarah Jane Evans MW v PRIORAT IS COMPLlCATED. If you want to drive from A ................ to B - no chanceoVou 'lI need to go round via F and M O a. Vin de Vila Village : . ~onlsanl T A T There's scarcely a straight line in the place. It's the same 1.. .................. : .......~ ....................... 1 La Morera de Montsant N with the soil. Priorat is all about the slate: lIicorella. It's 2 Scala Dei ~.., NíS.AN .. ::' what gives the minerality. Vet look at any geological map 3 Poboleda . 1'.40 :.... 4 La Vilella Alta ot"l.A Dé, " . .¡" and you 'lI be dazzled by the contrasting selection of soils. sErr .... : . 5 La Vilella Baixa ,............... .,. \ Then there are the dizzyingly different vineyard aspects; 6 TorroJa del Priorat . Comudella 7 Gratallops de Montsant the slopes, which range from S% to a precipitous 95%; and / * 8 Porrera ... ., \' ." the average rainfall, which varies from 450mm to 750mm (. 9 El Uoar across the 000. (DOa? That's the top rating for any DO 10 Solanes del Molar / .... ~ ......:(. in Spain, only shared with Rioja, where it's known as DOCa.) , 11 Bellmunt del Priorat ( 12 Masos de Falset f O 1 234 5 There's nothing consistent about the place. Except ....... , ! ! , ! I perhaps its isolation and glorious mystery. Partly as a kilometres result of this isolation and abandonment, Priorat has .......... lived through times of serious impoverishment. 'As J/ recently as the early 19905', one producer told me, f·.. ·· ....· 'pensions were the basic source of income.' A quarter of a century ago the new era of Priorat was ...... CE sparked by five pioneers. Around the millennium another era began, with a new generation of businesses ( m starting up and winemakers reviving family wineries and \... ( . ... ". .' Falsat .. ,. l...t C J'ALU YA old vineyards. José Mas of Costers del Priorat is typical: \.... : \ :......... ... "\. ) ·····1 :J" . ::... -9/0.1,;1 c: a 'newcomer' who has settled in and earned his reputation: ~ < SllJíaf18 lf ...... ·.... Y . Ma~a Qi 'Some people work in wine because they have family z ¡;,.. vineyards. I'm part of Generation Zero. I don't have any , ~ r '''¡¡ 420 L..'" inherited obligation to work; it's just my pass ion.' MO T A T ..ci L Fresh approach Given the diversity of the land, there is no likelihood of him or anyone producing a textbook or recipe wine. Vet Priorat: know your vintages the best Priorat wines share a clear identity, usually with an inky colour and a dense, rich texture. There is often a 2o 14 An Atlantic vintage with a (highlighted overleaf) show good distinct freshness typical of Garnacha grown at the vengeance: rain, hail and rot. Vet many balance. Drink now and over 10 years. highest altitudes on red clay. As Valenti Llagostera of wines show promising freshness. Early Mas Doix, puts it: 'These are wake-up wines, not sofa wines.' for a final verdict. but one to watch. 2 011 A very hot year, except in July, Cariñena needs to be handled with ca re. Says Mireia the wines are, in style, somewhere Torres of the eponymous winery: 'We love Cariñena - it 2O 13 Like 2014, an Atlantic vintage: between 2009 and 2010. Buy carefully. gives lower alcohol, and ages well. But it does need poor cooler, and promising more elegant, soil, so doesn't work so well in our Penedes vineyards.' fragrant wines. Many producers are 2 010 While this was a hot and dry With its tiny vineyards and the difficulty of working talking of an ideal vintage, with easily year, Priorat produced so me great them, Priorat will never be cheap. Hence the wines can 10 years' ageing capacity. wines (see overleaf for the tasting be slow to sell, and there are some less likeable older results) with freshness. Drink now or vintages around. So do check the vintage when you buyo 2O 12 The hot, dry summer - the enjoy over five to 10 years. Also check the label for the name of the village or third dry year in a row - was relieved vineyard. 'Vi de Finca' denotes a wine marketed under by some rain. Some wines suffered 2009 Rated excellent; a powerful, the same single vineyard name for at least 10 years. from low acidity, but the best ripe, bold vintage. Drink soon. There are only two at present but more will appear. More contentious is the much debated 'Vi de Vila', an attempt at a Burgundian approach to a village wine. It's Priorat: the facts a pity it's still undecided - Priorat could take the lead with its 12 identifiable villages capable of producing The 000 is 17,629ha in area, of which 250ha; Syrah 224ha; Merlot 105ha 'Vins de Vila'. We wait for good news. l,887ha are under vine. There are 600 Total whites 99ha, of which Garnacha growers and 99 registered wineries Blanca represents more than half Sarah Jane Evans MW is Regional co-Chair for Spain and Total reds l,800ha, of which: Garnacha Total production (2014) whites, Sherry at the Decanter World Wine Awards 710ha; Cariñena 483ha; Cabernet Sauvignon 341,306kg; reds, 5,618,658kg }> (Source ConsejO Regulador 01 Priora!) DECA TER · ovember 2015 I 113 Dealnter PANEL TASTING The results The presence of Cariñena in all three top-rated wines reflects the focus by Priorat's leading names on native varieties. Christelle Gu ibert reports on a tasting that changed our panel's vi ew of the region PRIORA T SEEMS TO have come a long way since our 'The wines share a wildness Thescores last tasting in March 2011. Our judges' perceptions then lOO wines tasted of high-alcohol, over-oaked and concentrated wines and herbiness, and a distinct have been replaced, thanks to an exciting new style. 'Priorat has moved to a new stage and there is real 3 regional identity' Pierre Mansour Outstanding excitement about the future: enthused Sarah Jane Evans MW. 'My real discovery this year has been Cariñena.' is a new region and that all they do there is make very 16 This is clearly reflected in the result, with the top wines concentrated wines with lots of oak; that was true in the Highly recommended predominantly made from Cariñena (Carignan). past, but no longer. Yes, they have a lot of alcohol but on Evans continued: 'Producers seem to ha ve turned the the other hand, they are really nicely balanced. The best 65 corner in going back and rediscovering what they do thing about Cariñena is that it's fresh!' Pierre Mansour Recommended best, which is their own local varieties. This is quite a echoed her comment: 'Alcohol is part of the Priorat recent change.' Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW explained: style, but in general it was in balance. There were 10 'In 1972, the ministry said Priorat had the potential to make examples where the alcohol was aboye 16%, but the Fair top Cabernet Sauvignon. In the 1980s, five producers richness and generosity of fruit is so in tense that it established themselves in the region, planting a lot of supports the alcohol, and the acidity too, and it works as o Cabernet and Merlot, which were popular at the time. a part of their original flavour and style.' Poor Alvaro Palacios has now abandoned Cabernet Sauvignon, In fact, the very few wines with lower alcohol did not but until 2014 there were still a lot of both varieties.' perform well, prompting Mansour to suggest: 'Perhaps 6 Evans also confessed to expecting an overdose of oak they are picking too early to get to this style, or the vines Faulty and alcohol, prior to the tasting: 'People say that Priorat are young. The 14%-15% alcohollevel is the sweet spot.' The tasters' verdicts Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW Sarah Jane Evans MW Ballesteros Torres is DWWA Regional Evans is DWWA Regional co-Chair for co-Chair for Spain and Sherry, with Evans Spain and Sherry, with Ballesteros Torres (right). He has studied in Jerez, Burgundy, (Ieft). An award-winning journalist and Napa and Bordeaux, and has a master's in wine writer since the 1980s, she became a viticulture and oenology. A columnist at Master of Wine in 2006. In 2010 Evans Spain's Vino y Gastronomfa and Planeta was knighted into the Gran Orden de Vino magazines, he is on the council of Caballeros del Vino for services to Spanish the Institute of Masters of Wine, the wine, becoming chair of the Institute of governing board of the Spanish Tasters ' Masters of Wine in 2014. She contributes Union, and the wine expert committee of to leading wine magazines and reference the Basque Culinary Centre. books, and judges wines internationally.