Priorat Wine Tasting at Wine Watch

Friday, June 12, 2015 - 07:00 PM

This Event has been read: 2197 times.

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“A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something brussel sprouts never do.”

-P. J. O’Rourke

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The Priorat makes some of Spain’s greatest wines and some of the most expensive as well.  The high elevation of the vineyards and cost of farming the old vines make the best wines very expensive and there really are no cheap wines until you get into the foothills of Monsant.  So we have included a few wines from this region for their value appeal.

Every time we show wines from the Priorat I am surprised to see how many new fans these wines acquire. They have gorgeous forward fruit and an early appeal that rank very high on the immediate gratification scale.  We like the wines of the Priorat so much we have dedicated an annual event to showcasing the new releases from area. 

Join us as we taste through over a dozen wines from the Priorat.  Wine Watch Catering's Toni Lampasone will be providing a few tasty treats to pair with the wines. This is a walk around tasting and is limited to 35 tasters, the fee for this event is $35 all-inclusive for reservations call 954-523-9463.

 

Transatlantic

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Clos Figueras Clos Figueres 2007
Price: $88.50       Sale $77.88          Case $903

(94 Points) The purple-colored 2007 Clos Figueres displays an already complex nose of sandalwood, Asian spices, mineral, lavender, herbs, and assorted black fruits. Dense and sweet on the palate, this plush offering will continue evolving for another 5-7 years and have a drinking window extending from 2015 to 2027. Wine Advocate #188, Apr 2010

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Clos Figueras Font de la Figuera 2010
Price: $42.75       Sale $37.62          Case $437

Initially a young vine wine, the same blend as the Serras but a longer maceration and sees a bit of oak all French. This is an average vintage not too hot or two cold producing very balanced wines. Coffee and dark spice here to the fresh crushed rock, blackberry liqueur like fruit with violets and lavender with a diesel like mineral aroma. big and chewy on the tongue with a host of blackberry and blueberry like fruit very intense with that black spice petrol like nuance from the nose coming through on the finish, fine tannins and wonderful balance, a big but still quite balanced and fresh wine through the finish. finish 45+ Excellent +

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Clos Figueras Serras Del Priorat 2012
Price: $27.00       Sale $23.76          Case $276

2011 the fourth year of a drought and 2012 was a bit cooler and had very good concentration and powerful, has forward bouquet of dark and red berry fruit, has some of that slate like mineral, slate like mineral and wild flowers and herbs. Bright and fresh blackberry fruit on the tongue with fine tannins, light and easy drinking with a short but pleasant finish echoing the wild flowers and herbs through the finish. Finish 35+ Very Good

 

Torgar Group

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Clos del Mas Priorat
Price: $27.00       Sale $23.76          Case $276

Vintage: 2010
Production: 25000 Bottles/Year
50% GARNACHA +35% CAB. SAUV. +15% CARINENA
Aged 12 months in French and American oak
This dynamic blend of carignan, grenache and cabernet sauvignon has an electric charge in its red fruit. It's an unusually lively Priorat with inner strength, and an exceptional take on the vintage. It's proof that fresh, crisp and juicy reds are possible in a region known for powerfully ripe wines. Drink it now or cellar it for at least five years.

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+7 Priorat                                           
Price: $38.25       Sale $33.66          Case $391

Vintage: 2009
Production: 25000 Bottles/Year
50% GARNACHA +30% CAB. SAUV. +20% SYRAH
Aged 12 months in French oak
Slowly evolving in the bottle, this is beginning to show the scents of cinnamon and coffee appropriate to an older wine. The texture is soft, with a rich sweetness that makes it easy to drink. The scent is complex, with grenache providing raspberry notes that meld with a blend of sweet spices. Built for Cabrales cheese.

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Balcons                Priorat                
Price: $48.00       Sale $42.24          Case $490

Vintage: 2006 & 2007
Production: 8000 Bottles/Year
50% GARNACHA +27% CAB. SAUV. +20% MERLOT + 3% CARINENA
Aged 14 months in French oak
The 2006 Balcons is a blend of 50% Garnacha, 27% Cabernet sauvignon, with the balance Merlot and Carinena aged for 14 months in French oak. It emits an aromatic array of roasted herbs, liquid mineral, lavender, black cherry, and plum.
Smooth-textured, concentrated, and with excellent volume, this well-balanced Priorat will evolve for several yeras and offer a drinking window extending from 2012 to2021.

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Clos del Music Priorat
Price: $52.50      

Vintage: 2009
Production: 6000 Bottles/Year
50% GARNACHA +30% CAB. SAUV. +10% SYRAH + 5% MERLOT + 5% CARINENA
Aged 14 months in French and American oak
This wine carries the warmth of the Priorat sun, along with the influence of the slate soils, delivering mineral flavors as if the licorella had dissolved into a liquid blend of merlot, cabernet and syrah. The fruit tastes like mulberries and Morello cherries, thier liqueur-like flavors surrounded in notes of leather and game.

 

Stacole

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SCALA DEI BLACK SLATE ESCALADEI 2010                
Price: $22.00       Sale $19.36          Case $225

 80% Garnacha and 20% Carinena aged 20 months in French and American oak, it is exudes classic Priorat aromas of black cherries and bramble fruit with notes of baked slate, licorice root and wild herbs.

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SCALA DEI BLACK SLATE MORERA BLANCO 2013  
Price: $22.00       Sale $19.36          Case $225

A blend of 91% Garnacha Blanca and 9% Pedro Ximénez, from 100% chalk soils,  aged 3 months in tank, the 2013 La Conreria d'Scala Dei Priorat Black Slate La Morera comes from the highest altitude, coolest vineyards located in La Morera de Montsant.

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MAS D'EN COMPTE BLANCO PRIORATO 2012     
Price: $30.00       Sale $26.40          Case $306

"A blend of 50% Garnacha Blanca, 25% Xarel-lo, and 25% Piquepoul from 80+ year old vines at 1050-1500 feet above sea level. Six months in French and American oak. The vineyards for the main Mas d'en Compte wines are incredibly steep-sided and rather haphazard with ancient vines literally clinging to the eroding soil for dear life." -Importer

"One of the oldest grape-growing families in the Priorat, the Sangenis family had historically sold the entirety of their production to the local coop until 1995 when they formed a new company, Mas d'en Compte, to bottle wine under their own name. Now, young Joan Sangenis manages the estate and makes the wines and has converted the entire estate away from chemical pesticides and herbicides."

"In a region where almost everyone has a few vines over 50 years old, the Sangenis family’s entire vineyard is practically this old, with several small parcels of 100+ year old vines of Grenache and Carignan. Also, they are one of the few holders of extremely old vine white Grenache, a varietal that many properties have ripped out. This old vine material means that yields are extremely low and concentration quite high."

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MAS DOIX SALANQUES 2010        
Price: $40.00       Sale $35.20          Case $408.00

(92 Points) The 2010 Salanques is a blend of 65% Garnacha and 25% Carinena from old vines and 10% young-vine Syrah aged for 14 months in 50/50 new and used French oak barrels. The nose has floral and fruit aromas with the oak adding just a spicy touch and the slate soil taking the leading role. The palate is extremely tasty, with pungent aromas and flavors that are long and persistent with the help of the well-integrated alcohol, finishing with a mineral taste that makes it almost salty. A great Salanques and quite good price for this quality in Priorat. 18,000 bottles were produced. Drink now-2022.

2010 seems like a very successful year for the wines of Mas Doix which are powerful and reflect their origin but show very good balance. The old vine cuvee is a really profound Priorat.  Wine Advocate #211, Feb 2014

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LAUREL PRIORAT RED 2012           
Price: $55.00       Sale $48.40          Case $561

Clos Erasmus. Laurel 2010 is a blend of Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, aged for 15 months in second year barrels, in which the Clos Erasmus was aged.

 

And More…….

 

Menu

Chicken Empanadas with Red adobo sauce

Hickory BBQ Pork Belly Sliders

Tortilla Espanola served on a toasted baguette topped with savory herbs and Heirloom tomato

Grilled Spanish chorizo with lavender mustard

 

This is a walk around tasting and is limited to 35 tasters, the fee for this event is $35 all-inclusive for reservations call 954-523-9463.

A bit of info on the Priorat:

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The first recorded evidence of grape growing and wine production dates from the 12th century, when the monks from the Carthusian Monastery of Scala Dei, founded in 1163, introduced the art of viticulture in the area. The prior of Scala Dei ruled as a feudal lord over seven villages in the area, which gave rise to the name Priorat. The monks tended the vineyards for centuries until 1835 when they were expropriated by the state, and distributed to smallholders.

At the end of the 19th century, the phylloxera pest devastated the vineyards causing economic ruin and large scale emigration of the population. Before the phylloxera struck, Priorat is supposed to have had around 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of vineyards. It was not until the 1950s that replanting was undertaken. The DO Priorat was formally created in 1954. The seat of the DO's regulatory body was initially Reus, some 30km to the east of the wine-region, rather than in Priorat itself.

In the decade from 1985, the production of bulk wine was phased out and bottling of quality wine phased in.

Early on, winemaking cooperatives dominated. Much of the development of Priorat wines to top class is credited to René Barbier and Álvaro Palacios. Winemaker Barbier, then active at a winery in Rioja owned by the Palacios family, bought his first land for Priorat vineyards in 1979, convinced of the region's potential. At this stage, there were 600 hectares (1,500 acres) of Priorat vineyards. In the 1980s, he convinced others, including Palacios, to follow suit and plant new vineyards in suitable locations, all named Clos. For the first three vintages, 1989-1991, the group of five wineries pooled their grapes, shared a winery in Gratallops, and made one wine sold under five labels: Clos Mogador (Barbier), Clos Dofi (Palacios, later renamed to Finca Dofi), Clos Erasmus, Clos Martinet and Clos de l'Obac. From 1992, these wines were made separately. In 1993, Palacios produced a wine called L'Ermita sourced from very old Priorat vines, which led to an increased interest in using the region's existing vineyards to produce wines in a new style.

The Catalan authorities approved of Priorat's elevation from DO to DOQ status in 2000, but national level confirmation from the Spanish Government in Madrid only came on July 6, 2009. In the period from 2000 to 2009, when it was approved as DOQ but not yet as DOCa, despite the fact that these designations were exactly the same but in Catalan and Spanish, respectively, the situation was somewhat confused. A new set of DOQ rules were approved by the Catalan government in 2006. The regulatory body moved from Reus to Torroja del Priorat in 1999.

The vineyard surface of Priorat has been continuously expanding since the Clos-led quality revolution in the 1990s. At the turn of the millennium there was 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of vineyards, with an equal amount of planting rights secured. As of 2009, there are close to 1,800 hectares (4,400 acres).

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