German Dominik A. Huber discovered his talent and passion for Mediterranean wine and culinary arts at a fairly early stage. At the age of 18 he visited an old Ligurian trattoria and a year later he went on a gourmet trip through Italy with German chef Karl Ederer, which took him to several top-notch traditional restaurants. At the age of 27 he began studying economics and marketing in London, Munich and Madrid.
And in 1996, still at university, he did his first internship at the Mas Martinet de Falset winery, owned by the Pérez family in Priorat. Enthused by his experiences and knowledge, he completed another internship with the Pérez family after graduating in 2000, and was employed for a full year. At this time, Dominik met Eben Sadie, a highly respected South African winemaker and winemaker (The Sadie Family, of Swartland). They became friends and together they returned to Mas Martinet to help the Pérez family harvest in 2001.
That same year Dominik and Eben Sadie founded Terroir al Límit. They bought their first grapes from the Pérez family and precariously vinified their first vintage of Dits del Terra wine. In 2003 they established their own winery in Torroja del Priorat, and their Arbossar wine was born. In 2006, the first vintage of the fine Les Manyes Grenache was produced, which with the 2016 vintage obtained the coveted 100 Parker points (The Wine Advocate). And in 2012 Eben Sadie returned to South Africa and Dominik continued the adventure alone, betting on biodynamics and making Priorat Burgundy. Today his partner Tatjana Peceric (enology) and Cales Ferré (viticulture) accompany him in his wine project.
Dominik A. Huber assures that he sees himself, above all, as “a craftsman.” He considers that “the challenge is to combine intellectuality, sensitivity and practical work.” Torroja del Priorat, a small town with only 141 registered citizens, has become the center of his life. He says that he feels that “here it is possible to live in the traditional Mediterranean style, with a healthy coexistence between body and spirit.” And he adds that “through my wines I believe I can bring this philosophy to the world.” He lived for 12 years in his winery-house in Torroja del Priorat, but now the family has moved to Salou. He likes to listen to classical and baroque music, especially Johann Sebastian Bach, with his first coffee in the morning, in the car and while he tastes his wines.
Terroir al Límit is inspired by a Burgundian approach to terroir. Their goal is to identify unique places in Priorat, “and then do everything possible to reveal them in each bottle as authentically as possible.” From the winery it is stated that their project fits into a markedly Mediterranean context. They say that “the ancient culture and our land are a consequence of the Mediterranean climate.” They consider that “wine must be made with healthy and live grapes, without manipulations or additives, and with no other purpose than to express the authentic emotion and true character of the place. They seek, therefore, to produce “the most elegant and expressive wines of Priorat.”
Les Manyes is, along with the white Pedra de Guix, the great icon of Terroir al Límit. It is a wine that was born in 2016, although the first tests were carried out in 2014. Dominik A. Huber assures that its great secret “is in the soil.” It is a vineyard with calcareous clay soil, rich in chalk, but with an absence of slate, planted on one of the high slopes of the Montsant mountain range, about 800 meters above sea level. We work following organic (certified) and biodynamic (uncertified) agriculture. Dominik A. Huber discovered this “magical” vineyard when he was traveling the roads of Priorat with his Yamaha XT 600 enduro motorcycle. Together with Eben Sadie he ate its black grapes with bluish tones from a trailer in Scala Dei. “We bought the first kilos of their grapes to carry out the first tests, and we were amazed!” He says. He has obtained many of his current vineyards by touring the Priorat and chatting and sharing beers with old winegrowers from the region in the bars of their towns.
Les Manyes is a 100% hairy Grenache, the fruit of a Scala Dei vineyard planted in glass 75 years ago. It is harvested manually with small boxes. As with the rest of their wines, their grapes are not destemmed (the winery does not have a destemmer). They vinify, therefore, with whole clusters. They do not add enzymes or selected yeasts, and they do not pump over during alcoholic fermentation. They raise Les Manyes for eight months in a square tartarized concrete tank. They also work with low doses of sulfur. And although theirs are low-intervention wines, they avoid the cliché of natural wines. Of the current vintage, the result of a very good harvest in Priorat, only 3,506 bottles were produced. Luis Gutiérrez from 'The Wine Advocate' has awarded it 97 points.
Les Manyes 2021 has a low layer and a beautiful ruby color. It is advertised as a “high-altitude wine.” It is a very fine and very varietal hairy Grenache, which seeks to accurately interpret the expression of its terroir. Fruit (cherry cherry) and red flowers sway in a somewhat metallic mineral bed (graphite). It also has a spicy touch and exhibits notes reminiscent of rose talc and aromatic garrigue herbs, especially rosemary.
It is very Mediterranean. It is palpable that it has been made using 100% scratch, despite showing a velvety tactile sensation. It is very clean, airy, delicate and with very good acidity. It is a very elegant classical symphony brought up to date. Its label indicates that it has an alcohol content of 13.5º, the minimum required in the Qualified Priorat DO. It is advisable to open the bottle half an hour before serving, and use open Burgundy-type glasses.
Their wines, they say from this Priorat winery, are made with Mediterranean gastronomy in mind. In this sense, they point out that "they shine brighter when enjoyed with family and friends, as part of the southern European lifestyle." And they add that “to pair with a healthy Mediterranean diet, known for dishes that are pure and authentic in flavor, our wines must be light and transparent. Nothing should mask the true character of the soils: neither the oak, nor the extraction, nor the over-ripening of the grapes. Only pure, mineral-rich fruit is used. “We believe real food needs real wine.” In fact, Dominik A. Huber likes good food as much or more than wine. And he likes to harmonize his Les Manyes with a baked pigeon, accompanied by figs (to connect with the sweet part of the Grenache) and artichokes (with which to link with the astringent part of the wine).
Terroir al Límit totals 20 hectares of vineyards between the Qualified DO Priorat (15) and the DO in Montsant. They produce around 120,000 bottles annually (90,000 in Priorat). They export 85% of their production. Dominik A. Huber assures that it is “too much.” He acknowledges that he would like to “sell more in Spain.” The United States, Germany and Switzerland are its three main international markets.
They are currently considering building a new winery on the outskirts of Torroja del Priorat and leaving the center of the town and a winery that has become too small for them and where they can no longer work comfortably. Dominik A. Huber sees Priorat as “a diamond in the rough” and with still potential. He highlights the commitment to wines that pursue more purity, and to ecology and biodynamics. In this sense he reveals that “I don't like wines focused on masculinity.” He says he is committed to “intellectuality and sensitivity, seeking authenticity.”
In 2014, they began carrying out the first production tests in tartarized concrete tanks. They range from ovoid to hexagonal or square. Today there is no longer a single oak barrel in its winery. They only work with concrete and stainless steel. Dominik A. Huber assures that “wood has distorted my wines.” He understands that “a wine with body, over-ripening, over-extraction and a lot of barrels does not work to pair with Mediterranean cuisine.” That is why he pursues making “direct, naked and unmakeup” wines, to more authentically express the terroir.
And he states that wines made in concrete tanks have “a more significant aging potential.” In this sense, he adds that “a wine aged in wood, due to microoxygenation, is already bottled tired.” He works with reduction in reds and oxidatively in whites, “the opposite of what most producers do.”
