This blog was from a radio show that aired on January 16, 2021. We sample wines on-air that are representative of the wine region or country our show covers. We double-decant red wines to ensure they have opened up sufficiently to express their range of flavors and aromas.
The more one knows about where a wine was birthed the more one can understand the influences on the wine. That includes the terroir, the history of the region, the grape or grapes typically employed and the winemaking itself. Along with that is the ever-changing vintage.
Spanish wine overview
There are over sixty defined wine regions and seven distinct climates within Spain, which is the third largest wine producer and the country with the most acreage devoted to wine. Along with Sherry, Rioja is probably the most recognized wine region in Spain. Spanish Cava would be right up there in popularity, particularly during the holiday season, but less is known of Cava’s home in Catalonia along Spain’s northeastern coast. That is until the tiny Priorat region and its bold, rich wines were discovered.
The Mediterranean coast of Spain offers diverse macro-regions from hot and dry Andalucía where Sherry is made in the far south to Catalunya (Catalonia) on the northwest coast where Cava from Penedés and intense red wines of Priorat are made. Imagine having delicate Cavas and brawny Priorats right next to each other. Sounds like a great place to visit.
Priorat at first glimpse
The images of Priorat available online are breathtakingly beautiful with sweeping vistas, with terraces cut into the mountainsides dressed with vines so old they look like small, thick-trunked trees.
The hillside towns laced with ancient stonework showcase buildings that seem to rise out of the stony ground as if grown there, baked to a faded tan by the sun. The yield per acre here is very small, with small, intense berries of Garnacha and Carińena. The roads cut through the hillsides look more suitable for mountain biking than tourism and in truth this region is best for wine grapes and olives.
Priorat history
Winemaking in Priorat goes back at least to the 12th century. Carthusian monks who had learned vineyard techniques in Provence, France tended the land in Priorat for nearly 700 years until in 1835, when lands were claimed by the state and redistributed. Well over 12,000 acres were under cultivation until the phylloxera scourge wiped them out.
Officially defined as a DO in 1954 it was not until René Barbier and a group of fellow aficionadas in the late 1980s began planting native and French grapes that things turned around. Using the term Clos, the French term for a protected or walled vineyard, the five main vineyards established a reputation for quality and intense red wines.
- Clos Mogador, Clos Dofi, Clos de L’Obac , Clos Martinet , and Clos Erasmus
- Currently 4,700 acres under cultivation
- Principal grapes: Garnacha and Carińena (Carignan) some 90 years old
- Proportions: Garnacha 39%, Carińena 27%, Cabernet Sauvignon 14%, Syrah 12%, Merlot 6%
- Price range: $20 to $60
Llicorella slate
The etymology comes from the Celtic likka, meaning stone. I knew St. Pat came by this way.
The taste can seem ephemeral to some, but mouthfeel is a key element in understanding and responding to it. Stone, slate, licorella – all of these words have become synonyms in the Priorat. The soil is relatively acidic with minimal organic material, and slate, known locally as “llicorella” (singular) or “llicorelles” (plural). These flat, easily breakable deeply copper colored stones are where the vine roots delve in search of water and nutrients. These are the soils that stamp a Priorat wine, and its ever struggling vines.
Map courtesy of Vineyards.com
Catalonia subregions.
- Penedés is along the coast below Barcelona where Cava is made.
- Tarragona just below Penedés on the coast is a large subregion not known for quality wines
- Montsant, below Tarragona and inland envelopes an oval diamond that is Priorat. See below
- Further inland and 25km to the west is another mountainous region called appropriately, Terra Alta, which is where our other wine originates
Priorat Red Grapes
The principal red grapes of Priorat are Garnacha and Carińena, with smaller proportions of the French Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot. Not a surprise for an area so heavily influenced by French viticultural techniques.
Grenache or Garnacha is a widely planted grape variety that ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions like Spain. The vine has a strong wood canopy and highly resistant to windy regions, although the Cantabrian Mountains shield the most of the powerful winds. Flavors: Spicy, red berry (typically raspberry and strawberry) and soft on the palate producing wine with a relatively high alcohol content. Aged Grenache takes on leather and tarry notes; classic flavors of Spanish Priorat wines.
Carińena (Carignan) Outside of Catalonia, Carińena is mostly a secondary blending variety used to add acidity to the Tempranillo-based wines of the Rioja region. The grape is hugely popular in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France.
What we are tasting: Les Mines 2016 Priorat 15% ABV, $20
Gran Clos bodega or winery is a Taub family selection and is part of the winemaking revolution that has occurred in Priorat in the past 15 years. Founded in 1995, this 75 acre property was purchased in 2002 by John Hunt, an international entrepreneur and owner of Oriel Wines. Winemaking is under the supervision of the talented young winemaker Josep Angel Mestre.
Montsant subregion
Montsant is like a mini Priorat, wrapped around the region, with similar elevations of 2,000 feet and similarly composed soils. It was formerly known as the Falset subzone of the mostly undistinguished Tarragona wine region.
Montsant became its own DOP in 2001. Like Priorat and the lesser-known, more southerly Terra Alta region, Montsant is largely a Mediterranean-influenced region with a familiar roster of grapes: Garnacha, Carignan, Syrah and Garnacha Blanca.
Montsant wines straddle the fence between power and precision. Because the reds are usually based on Garnacha, Carignan and Syrah, expect ripeness and high alcohol levels. And prices lower than Priorat.
Terra Alta subregion
Terra Alta is a Spanish DOP (Denominació d’Origen Protegida) for Catalan wines, located in the west of the province of Tarragona and covers 12 inland municipalities in a mountainous region that is featured in a number of Picasso’s paintings. I’m guessing these are the ones that actually look like mountains.
Due to its geographical isolation, and 3,000 foot peak elevation, this area only made wine for local consumption but has recently started to produce modern Mediterranean style wines. Several cooperative wineries were designed and built in the 1920s by Cèsar Martinell, a student of Antoni Gaudí, and are notable for their modernist architectural style. Probably not looking anything like La Sagrada Familia, however.
In the times of the ancient Romans, the road from Zaragoza to Tortosa passed through the area, and is probably when grape growing was first introduced. In the Middle Ages, the Knights Templar planted vines, but the distance to markets and to ports meant that a lot of vineyards were converted to olive groves instead. There are extant legal documents on the regulation of the grape and wine industry: dating from 1296. During the 19th century the vinos rancios (rancid wines) from Terra Alta, attained great fame.
- The area was devastated by the phylloxera outbreak. The current vineyards were replanted between 1920 and 1950, largely by cooperatives.
- Terra Alta DOP acquired official status in 1972 and there are currently around 6,000 hectares covered, with 1,242 grape growers and 62 wineries registered.
- Principal red grapes: Garnacha, Carińena, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Alicante Bouschet and Syrah.
Terra Alta Garnacha varieties: Blanca (White), Tinta (Red) and Peluda (Hairy)
Garnacha is vital to Terra Alta, with red Garnacha at 26% of the total production and white Garnacha at 20%. While red wines are important and of high quality, this region has been recognized for white wine since the 19th century and includes 30% of the world’s white Garnacha.
The hairy red version is a morphological response to hot, dry conditions by the leaf growing fine white hairs. The fuzzy layer protects the vine from water loss due to transpiration, helps shade the leaves, and reflects sunlight to help keep the plant cool. Reference: Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Vine; I kid you not.
The plateau and valley floor, where vines are concentrated, include soils of limestone and clay, with coarse elements that encourage good aeration and drainage. The Mediterranean climate of Terra Alta skews continental in the winter, with the potential for severe cold and a danger of late frosts in spring. Abundant sunshine and the convergence of two winds — cold from the north and humid from the south — promote good vine health.
What we are tasting: Vega del Origin 2011 Gran Reserva Terra Alta, 14.5% ABV, $6.99
Leave it to Trader Joe’s to come up with a Gran Reserva under ten bills. While this is an unrated wine I give it a thumb up. It does require at least an hour of breathing time, the wine, not you. It is one of those this-can’t-be-right-I’ve-got-to-try-it wines. Back in California this would be a classic TJ tailgate * wine.
* TJ tailgating involves going into the store with a few friends, picking up a number of interesting wines and snacks and bringing them to someone’s tailgate in the parking lot where we sample them with cheese and crackers and return for any of the ones that are not clunkers.
This is a blend of 60% Garnacha and 40 % Syrah, aged in French and American oak for 30 months. The oak time agree with Rioja Gran Reserva of at least 24 months in oak and since this is now 10 years old it meets the three years in bottle requirement. Whether 2011 was a declared vintage year in Catalonia is an open question.
“Very hot throughout August and September, creating some dehydration. Immensely powerful wines with a great deal of flesh.” Jancis Robinson
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