Priorat

If Guinness did wine tastings... a huge thank you to Ricard for not only sourcing many of these excellent wines on our behalf, but also creating a spectacular meal and hosting us with true generosity. Just ticked every box - interest, quality, conviviality - a real privilege.

• 2021 Celler Cal Pla Priorat Mas d'en Compte Blanc 88 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Fresh almond, orange peel, jasmine: soft and cottony. If you told me it was a Southern Rhone I'd not bat an eyelid. Unobtrusive on the palate - a touch of grip compensating for a lack of acidity- textural rather than driven.

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• 2023 Celler Vall Llach Priorat Porrera Vi de Vila Blanco 89 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Gently oxidative, nutty, apricot skin, smoke and a hint of milky coffee. Pleasant, with grip and a little bitterness tightening up the palate. Long, long bitter finish. It just lacks some shape and dimension on the palate - which is probably the intended character of these wines- but rating this as far as it matches my subjective taste.

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• 2023 Terroir Al Limit Soc. Lda. Priorat Terra de Cuques 91 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Interesting! Musky flowers, toasted hazelnut, chlorine (in a nice way!), seawater and a hint of wood polish - some angles here, and a hint of honeyed citrus. Really quite intense. Gentle fruit on the palate, slightly oily with grip and orange zest bitterness freshening the finish.

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• 2023 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Vi de Vila Gratallops 89 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  It's nice - but also strangely placeless, 'international'. Saturated strawberry fruit, spice, lots of violet - confident and pronounced nose. Smooth on the palate with a touch of bite. It's clearly good, but I didn't find it that interesting.

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• 2019 Mas Martinet Priorat Clos Martinet 94 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Super texture on the nose - really speaks to a sense of place. Brett, cedar, blood and then sweet rose, brackish water. Savoury, sweet, grown up. In turns both cosseting and bracing on the palate: grippy and punchy but there's an underlying sense of delicacy and transparency with it. Very complex, with real layers of freshness and power. A long, salty finish. Loved this.

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• 1994 Clos Mogador Priorat 94 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Dark chocolate, black cherry compote, leather, forest floor - a noble sense of death and decay. And yet there's tart angularity and wilting flowers too. A red rose placed on a gravestone if you like. The palate is totally coherent, balanced and delicious - red fruit, blood. Distinctive, characterful and generally excellent.

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• 2006 Celler Vall Llach Priorat Vall Llach 91 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Smooth black cherry and blackberry, coffee, dried blood, burnt Demerara, seaweed, porcini, iodine. Quite big and sweet on the palate- the grip is still present and it's maybe lacking some poise. Savoury, salty finish. The palate is a bit of a let down compared to a nose that promised a great deal - shrunk in comparison to some of the other reds at the table for me.

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• 2001 Mas Doix Priorat Costers de Vinyes Velles 89 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Others loved this - I found it quite one-note: spherical, voluptuous, richly fruited and spiced. Kind of what I was dreading about revisiting Priorat reds as my tastes have gone in a different direction to these big, bold, saturated wines. Fortunately, in most cases my fears were unfounded - but not in this one.

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