Visit to Priorat & Montsant

My last Spanish post was based on an interview with winemaker Ricard Rofes, which was also recorded into a podcast. Both were all about Priorat, one of Spain’s most prestigious regions: its history, the grape varieties, the wines, and how it’s changed over the last 30 years. Well, I finally got to visit the region in person and what an experience it was: an incredibly beautiful, dramatic region with slopes and plantings reminiscent of Douro Valley. I was only there for three days, but got to visit six of the leading wineries plus a visit to a leading co-operative in Montsant, a region which is definitely not Priorat’s baby brother.

history

I got to hear the history of Priorat on multiple occasions, often relayed in the middle of a baking hot vineyard, but it is important to understand as it explains how Priorat got to where it is today. In the early to mid-1200s, Priorat was christianised after several centuries of Islamic rule. A Carthusian priory was established, hence the name “Priorat.” They developed and then oversaw grape-growing and winemaking for the next several centuries. Their property was requisitioned by the government in 1835, and for the next 50 years there was a commercial boom which saw all of the region covered in vines (the wines were rarely bottled, though, and sometimes used to bulk up Bordeaux). This boom ended with phylloxera in the 1890s, when the population of Priorat fell from 11,000 to 2,000. Any attempts to revive wine production were hindered by the Spanish Civil War, of which Catalunya was a key battleground.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, there was a small number of growers still selling fruit to co-operatives but Priorat had largely been forgotten about. This changed in the late 1980s when five ambitious winemakers bought land in the area with the goal of making high-quality wine from the difficult but high-potential old vines grown on rocky infertile slopes. Their rapid success led to many aspirational would-be producers jumping on the bandwagon in the 1990s, making international-style wines that included Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. But Priorat is such a difficult place to grow grapes that many producers left and the region has settled down: only 20% of the land is planted to vines (which is unlikely to change) and the styles of wine are much more restrained and less reliant on oak.

climate

Priorat is in Catalunya in north-east Spain, about an hour-and-a-half’s drive inland from Barcelona. It has a climate that was described to me by Valentí Llagostera, co-owner of Mas Doix, as having “Mediterranean days and continental nights.” During the summer, temperatures can be as high as 36°C during the day, falling to 18°C at night. There is on average 400mm of rain which mostly falls during the winter, although there can be a little bit of rain just after flowering and also just before harvest. This combination of heat and lack of rain can lead to vintage variation: 2020 saw heavy rain in warm conditions in April which led to downy mildew and a much smaller harvest, while 2021 was a bumper vintage due to rain falling at exactly the right time. As an example, Mas Doix receive on average 60-70,000kg of grapes each harvest; in 2020, they received 45,000kg; in 2021, 110,000kg.

Most regions in Europe are planted on south-facing slopes to maximise ripeness—think of a classic region such as the northern Rhône for Syrah. This logic was initially applied to Priorat, but producers have found the practicalities to be more complex than that. Garnatxa is a variety that loves the sun and builds up lots of sugars, while losing acidity and tannin. Therefore, south-facing slopes are avoided by the best producers who aren’t trying to produce big, jammy, high-alcohol wines. In contrast, Carinyena can ripen up to three weeks later and it needs the south-facing slopes to ensure full ripeness. At the same time, there are so many contours and slopes that vines can face in subtly different directions, rather than a simple north/south exposition.

soils

The lack of rain makes the soils all-important. These are hard slate soils locally called llicorella which quickly soak up any water that falls. But the schist soils have fissures in them which the vines’ roots dig down into to access the water. These fissures freeze during the winter which widens them and allows greater access for the vines to the underground water. Because of this, the vines develop a naturally deep root system and irrigation is not necessary.

terraced vineyards; compare to the vines planted in the header image

These slate soils are on incredibly steep slopes, which makes both planting and maintaining the vineyards extremely difficult. To plant new vines, Mas Doix drill a hole into the soil for the vine and then another hole next to it to pour three to four litres of water into it to supply the young vine. There is also much controversy about how to plant the vines: some have created terraces to prevent erosion and to align the vines in an orderly, easily farmable manner. Others, however, plant them as bush vines following the contours of the slope, which arguably leads to a more homogeneous ripening. This goes back to the many different aspects the grapes face, and the ripening season of the grape variety. It may make more sense to allow the vines to follow the contours of the slope, rather than forcing them in one direction which the land doesn’t naturally follow.

grape varieties

The two main varieties are Garnatxa (aka Garnacha or Grenache) and Carinyena (aka Cariñena or Carignan, and sometimes called Samsó in Catalunya), and they are often old vines which means low yields but concentrated wines. It was fascinating to hear the various producers talk about the differences between the two varieties. Valentí described Garnatxa as “looking towards the sun,” whereas Carinyena “looks towards the earth,” which I thought was a memorable and accurate way of putting it.

In general, Carinyena is a much-maligned variety. Once the most planted in Languedoc, it’s fallen out of favour because it was used for its high yields for bulk wine, which led to astringent tannins and a lack of complexity. Likewise, in California just over 50 years ago it was the most planted variety. But it’s different in Priorat, because the old vines keep the tannins in check, leading to more complex, animal, black fruit aromas, all while maintaining fresh acidity. I went to Priorat expecting Carinyena to be used simply as a blending grape to add tannin and black fruit aromas to Garnatxa, but producers are taking it very seriously in its own right, proving that Carinyena can be one of the great black grape varieties of the world in the right climate and conditions.

Priorat Carinyena

Scala Dei “Heretge” 2018

Called “Heretge” because it seemed a heresy to make a single-varietal Carinyena wine in Priorat. This is in part because of attitudes to the variety, but also because traditionally Priorat was always a blend. Most wineries bought grapes from many growers who held small plots, which made blending a necessity. However, the best producers now have much more control of their own many plots, and can make high-end single-varietal wines. The Carinyena from Scala Dei (Priorat’s original producer) comes from three plots all on slate vineyards on slopes from 105-year-old vines. Floral, perfumed, and attractive, with gentle black fruit aromas, herbs, spices, and firm tannins, with a smoky, earthy, game maturity (€100; ✪✪✪✪✪).

Mas Doix “1902” 2019

The range of wines from Mas Doix starts Garnatxa-heavy (the sub-€20 “Les Crestes” is 85%), becoming more Carinyena-heavy as the wines become more serious and intense (the €85 “Doix” is 55% Carinyena). This shows just how seriously Mas Doix—as well as other producers—are taking the grape variety. The culmination is “1902,” from a vineyard planted in that year. The vineyard, “Torsal d’en Bou,” is so well-regarded that since 2019 it has been considered a “Grand Cru,” part of an attempt by the Priorat authorities to classify the region more closely. This is a wonderfully smooth, elegant, refined, perfumed, and concentrated wine, which will make any Carinyena sceptic rethink their opinion (€300; ✪✪✪✪✪✪).

Cims de Porrera “Le Sentius” 2006

Garnatxa Blanca in demi-johns at Cims de Porrera

The Cims de Porrera winery used to be a co-operative, before moving to higher-end production in 1996. There’s a lot of experimentation going on, including ageing wine in demi-johns in the cool underground cellars, but one of their key traits is to release their wines after a considerable period of ageing. “Le Sentius” is all Carinyena from a 630m high, north-west facing vineyard. It’s aged for twelve months in barrel and fifteen years in bottle—2006 is their current release. It’s rather like a Gran Reserva Rioja, incredibly fresh despite its maturity with juicy, intense black fruits as well as tobacco, smoke, and dried herbs, and gradually softening tannins (€90; ✪✪✪✪✪).

Terroir al Limit “Arbosser” 2020 and “Les Tosses” 2019

Dominik Huber of Terroir al Limit is something of a maverick: a German who moved to Priorat because of the lifestyle without actually liking the local wines that much. He’s not a typical Priorat producer, one who is frustrated by the conservative and often frustrating rules (minimum alcohol is 13.5%, for example) and his wines are quite different in their restrained, lean style. But the wines, on any count, are fantastic. “Arbosser” was his only bottling in 2020 because of the challenges with downy mildew. It’s 100% Carinyena, from 100-year-old vines, and might have been the favourite and approachable of his wines I tried: pretty, earthy, and animal, but at the same time juicy and ripe; a very balanced expression of Priorat (€55; ✪✪✪✪✪). “Les Tosses,” which he classifies as Grand Cru within his selection while avoiding the new official Priorat classification, is denser, darker, and more intense, but shares the perfumed aromatics of all the other Carinyena I tried (€185; ✪✪✪✪✪✪). Both wines come in at 13.5%: Carinyena does not need to be big and brooding; in fact, all the wines I tried were smooth, approachable, and hard to resist whatever their age.

garnatxa

old-vine Garnatxa at Scala Dei

For all the interest in Carinyena, Garnatxa remains the most important variety and is usually the lead in any blend. Like Carinyena, more producers are experimenting with single-varietal wines as well as blends in order to express the characteristics of another variety that has often been overlooked despite its global importance. The best wines often come from the cooler north-facing slopes: as with other regions, matching variety to site is behind quality.

Nin-Ortiz “Nit de Nin” 2007

Garnatxa comes in many variants: black, pink, and white. There’s also another variant which biodynamic producer Nin-Ortiz take very seriously: Garnatxa Peluda. This is a later ripening version, with furry skins. It therefore needs slightly warmer sites than Garnatxa itself, and so the plantings are arranged to receive more sunshine. “Nit de Nin” is 100% Garnatxa Peluda and tasting the wine from 2007 shows the quality it’s capable of: it maintains colour, juiciness, and freshness, with lots of mature aromas of earth, game, animal, dried fruits, graphite, smoke, and tobacco (€85; ✪✪✪✪✪).

Terroir al Limit “Les Manyes” 2019

Not all soil in Priorat is slate; at higher altitude, there are clay soils. This comes from 800m elevation and 70-year-old vines. Since 2016, Dominik has been moving to cement tanks instead of oak, a trend I found among the producers I visited. This leads to a more integrated, less woody style, which can be seen in this perfumed, elegant, crunchy, grainy wine with a vanilla, liquorice core (€185; ✪✪✪✪✪).

Scala Dei “Masdeu” 2020 (from barrel)

“Les Manyes”—one of Dominik’s top vineyards—is next to Scala Dei’s “Masdeu,” also on clay soils. This is possibly Scala Dei’s best wine, so it was interesting to try a younger vintage from (old) barrel. There’s also a grainy texture to the wine, giving the lie that Garnatxa lacks a tannic structure, as well as a herbal character that is generally typical of the variety, but seemed especially prominent in Priorat (€100; ✪✪✪✪✪). (For a review of the 2012, see my last piece on Priorat.)

& Montsant

The two regions of Priorat and Montsant are often likened to a doughnut, with Priorat the hole in the middle surrounded by Montsant. Priorat is so much more famous that Montsant often gets dismissed as its baby brother, a cheap alternative to its more presitigious neighbour. But Montsant clearly has its own identity. Whereas Priorat is mostly slate soils, there is much more diversity to Montsant, making the wines potentially more varied. Dominik Huber of Terroir al Limit has started a new range of Montsant wines, and he finds making wine there much more liberating with much greater potential than he had initially thought. The diversity of soils, altitude, and grape varieties makes Montsant initially harder to pin down than Priorat, but as producers begin to match variety to soil the quality and identity are both likely to become more pointed.

An example of how Montsant has changed is Celler de Capçanes, a co-operative based in the small village of Capçanes south of Priorat. They work with 65 growers and make a whole range of wine, from supermarket to premium—this is why it’s difficult for co-ops to make good wine, but there’s an attention to site and grape variety here which means that there are some very good wines made.

“Le Nit de les Garnatxes” is a “box-set” of four Montsant wines all made from Garnatxa but from four different soil types: sand, limestone, slate, and clay, already two more soil types than found in Priorat. The differences are subtle but notable: the sand produces fruity, juicy Garnatxa; limestone firmer and finer though still ripe; slate more herbal, smoky, and gripping; clay much wilder in its red fruit and herbal aromas. The attractively packaged box retails for around $100 in the USA, and is one of the more affordable as well as fascinating introductions to the concept of terroir (✪✪✪✪✪).

Le Nit de les Garnatxes