The Priorat also remains undaunted as the Carthusian stat crux, like a thousand years ago when those Carthusians who came from France, in the 12th century, chose this rough and extreme terroir, its impossible slopes and its licorella soils to cultivate those grapes that still survive today. . In 1885 those wise monks abandoned their cartoixa, they were forced, in silence and without contemplation, to revolve with the world of their motto, that world that is also our world and that motto that is also our motto.
El Priorato, in addition to being a region, is one of the only two qualified Spanish denominations of origin, along with Rioja. An austere territory that does not leave anyone indifferent—you hate it or you love it—composed of twelve towns among which Escaladei (Cellers Scala Dei), Bellmunt (Casa Gran del Siurana), the mythical Gratallops and its Garnachas (Álvaro Palacios and René Barbier) or El Lloar (Priorat Portal). The steep slopes of the Priorat, the slate soils poor in organic matter and the high variability of its extreme climate force it to practice what has come to be described as heroic viticulture; a heroism that not only resides in the difficulty of harvesting the grapes, but also lies in the tenacity of its people and the tenacity of that new generation of winegrowers—of those heroes—who have turned one of the poorest regions of Catalonia in a world reference in the world of wine and rural recovery.
With the ancestral and native grapes of Priorat, Garnacha and Cariñena, today other foreign varieties coexist - not without some controversy -, including Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, which have adapted to that hostile soil, developing a character own and unique.
But for me it is here, in that DO, where the old Grenache vines show all their splendor. Garnacha is our grape, the grape of our land, the one that speaks our language; It is my favorite grape, and it is in this remote corner of the planet, which is a refuge for our culture, where Garnacha darkens like it does nowhere else, where it is dyed that dark cherry color to show the world a thousand years of perseverance, conservation and worship of the God in whose bosom our ancestors have grown.
Rivers of ink have been poured over those five pioneers, Palacios, Pérez, Pastrana and Glorian, led by René Barbier, who catapulted Priorat to the top of the Parker Olympus, of their immense value and their inestimable contribution to the region and the country.
Other passionate characters have come in his wake, such as Llach, who settled in Porrera, where his mother is native; and the two that concern us in this month's wine selection: Alfredo Arribas, namesake and renowned architect established in Barcelona, who founded the Portal del Priorat in El Lloar; and the Suqué and Mateu family, who come from Perelada to settle in the Casa Gran, former property of those Carthusians whom Mendizábal sent away.
Priorat is a must-see for any self-respecting fan, and we have it just four steps away. In 2011, on one of my many visits to this land, I had the pleasure of flying over the vineyards and thus capturing the magnitude of the feat of producing wine there, and I also had the honor of tasting some paid wine (clos in Catalan, wines from a single vineyard) in the vineyard itself where its grapes are harvested.
Drinking wine is reliving the history and stories behind each territory, each winery, each vineyard, each strain and each bottle. So let's get to know it, let's get to know them to enjoy the experience of tasting a glass of wine in all its magnitude.
For this month I propose to taste simultaneously, as always in company, the three wines of the selection to compare the different forms of winemaking, the different blends and their results.
Drops from the priory 2021
Twelve months of aging in wood. Without filter. Standout feature in our tasting: the fruit.
Soul of the Priory 2022
Fermentation in stainless steel and aging in stainless steel and wood. Standout feature in our tasting: the species.
Blood 2019
Traditional production with long aging in new and second-year French oak barrels. Standout characteristic in our tasting: wood and depth.
Filmography: Priorat. David Fernández de Castro, 2016. In Filmin, of course.
* The cross stands while the world turns. La cruz se mantiente estable mientras el mundo gira San Bruno, 1084.
