2001 Mas D'en Gil Clos Fonta $66.99 This is a great wine and worth the money.

Board-O:

Thanks for the tip. I just bought 6 bottles based on your recommendation...

FYI: I just came back (yesterday) from Spain and visited some Bodegas in Priorat (i.e. located in the small towns of Porrera, Falset, and Torroja de Priorat). After seeing your recommendation, I wish I would have gone to Tarragona (I believe that's where the "Finca Mas D'en Gil" is located, isn't it?)

No, it's located just north of Falset on the road to Bellmunt del Priorat.

How about that Torroja del Priorat! We stayed at the hotel there.

What places did you visit? Any wineries? I may be back in the Barcelona area next summer and will try to get back to Priorat.

Board-O:

Sorry for the delayed response (FYI, I've been very busy at work...after being away from work for over two weeks, I had more than 1000 work related e-mails).

Yes, I visited several wineries...among the standouts were "Celler Vall-LLach S.L." (in Porrera), "Rotllan Torra" (in Torroja del Priorat), and "Mas Martinet S.L." (in Falset).

By the way, this was the first time that I've been to Priorat, and I thought that since I am fluent in Spanish that I was going to do fine; however, I was surprised how many people primarily speak "Catalan" and very limited Spanish...

JAR

Yeah, once you get into Priorat, you can get by with French almost as well as Spanish.

By the way, I'm looking forward to your next Priorat wine recommendation...please continue to post them.

I had mentioned this one previously- Wine Library had the 2004 Mas d'en Gil Coma Blanca, a mixture of Garnacha Blanca and Macabeo, for sale a while ago. The 2000 is, by far, the best Spanish white I've ever had, and it's better than almost all the CA whites and Grand Cru Burgundies I've had, and I've had a load of Grand Cru white Burgundies. It's the equivalent of the finest Rhone whites for a lot lower price. About $65, I believe. I bought 6 of them.

I just checked wine library and unfortunately the "2004 Mas d'en Gil Coma Blanca" has already sold out...

Questions: What is your opinion on Priotat's potential to age in a "very good" to "excellent" vintage for both red and white wines? Do you think that the red wine can last more than 20 years? What about the white wines?

Looking forward to your response,

JAR

First the whites:

The 2000 Mas d'en Gil is a behemoth and would have benefited from decanting. The Garnacha Blancas, in my relatively small sampling, age as well as the French Grenache Blancs. I can't recommned this wine highly enough. I'm guessing this will still be improving at its tenth birthday, and this coming from someone who likes most whites on the young side.

Another great heavy hitter is the Nelin from Rene Barbier at Clos Mogador. It's a blend of Garnacha Blanca, Roussanne, Viognier, Macabeo, and (believe it or not) Pinot Noir. This is a huge velvety, viscous perfumed wine with hints of poire. I'm sure this wine will age for quite a long time.

Some of the simpler whites like the Scala Dei Les Bruguerres, which has unfortunately been discontinued after the 2005 vintage so that the winery can plant more red varietals, are fine and ready to go when bottled, with a freshness and crispness that compliments a wide variety of lighter dishes.

Mas Igneus makes a Garnacha Blanca, Muscat, PX, Macabeo blend called Barranc del Closos. This wine has more body and crisp minerality combined with a lemon oil richness. I'm guessing this wine will be best before it's 5 years old. It's got a modest price and is a great QPR.

Now the reds:

As far as your question about very good to excellent vintages, they all are in Priorat. The climate is very consistent and the main determining factor in harvest time is not ripeness, because their grapes always ripen well. It is the rain, but not in a negative sense. The area is very dry and mountainous, so the yields are very low producing rich, concentrated juice. On occasion, they will wait for a rain before harvesting if the grapes are particularly tiny. I've had Priorats back to 1999 and every vintage has been excellent. 2002 was spotty in much of Spain, but not in Priorat.

wine+art has had more older Priorats than I have, so I'm hoping he'll jump in here with his opinions. So many of the Priorats I've had have been concentrated and deep that I imagine they'll age for a long time. The rich, fruit forwardness of these wines makes them seem ready to drink at almost any age. They're not very tannic because the more tannic varietals tend to be employed in smaller amounts in the blends.

The aging potential of Priorats is still difficult to determine since modern technologicalk advancements in winemaking are still relatively new to the region. As recently as 10 years ago, many wines were fermented year-after-year in the same wooden vats. Now look at a winery like Alvaro Palacios. They're doing everything by the most modern, up-to-date scientific methods, as well as experimentation. They ferment in wood (new), stainless steel, and concrete. The concrete is lined but it makes for great temperature stability during the fermentation.

Everybody, myself included, seems to talk mostly about the reds, but there are some great whites being made.

I have not had many older Priorats, and none before the "modern era" that began in 1989 with Rene Barbier and his friends. I have tasted Alvaro Palacio's Finca Dofi and L'Ermita, Cims de Porrera and Cellers Capafons-Ossó back to the early 1990s; the oldest of these wines had 15 years or so in the bottle when I tried them.

I summed up my impressions of Priorat's ageability in an article in the Dec. 15, 2006 issue of Wine Spectator:

"As big, bold and intense as these red wines are, they appear to show their best from three to 10 years after the vintage date. That's when their tannins have softened and their flavors have harmonized, but the vibrant, juicy berry, mineral and mountain herb character is still fresh and focused."

I hope to be proved wrong by future vintages of these wonderful wines.

Thomas Matthews
Executive editor

why isnt there ws ,rp, and board-o. ??????????????????????????????

Thanks so much for your input, Thomas.

Board-O and Thomas:

Thanks for all the comments.

I'll go back and read the Dec. 15, 2006 WS issue.

Thanks,

JAR

Board-O:

After reading your comments about white Priorat, I am going to buy and try a white Priorat next to a white Rhone wine (i.e. made primarily from Grenache Blanc) and compare them.

Thanks,

JAR

JAR, did you ever do the side-by-side? I'm thinking of doing one this summer with the Coma Blanca.

Board-O- I tip my hat of respect to you, regarding the Spanish Whites. I believe you have most likely accomplished the most research and tastings of these, which has resulted in a few incredible recommendations. Thank you.

Regarding the Reds, I also agree with Board-O that, overall, Priorat produces the largest number of 'great' wines. Admittedly, I'm quite partial to the wines of Alvaro Palacios. His Finca Dofi is consistantly a beautiful wine, vintage to vintage. Always elegant and balanced, while not cheap, is one of the finest 'QPR's' in Spain for its' quality. The finest Priorat I've yet to experiance has been the 1998 L'Ermita. A phenominal wine full of grace, balance of depth. Beautiful.

However, while many members here are not fans of the Ribera del Duero, the Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único is truly classic. Some months ago, several of us had the good opportunity to enjoy, amongst several fantastic Spanish wines, the 1994 vintage of this wine, next to the L'Ermita. Both were absolutely stunning IMO. I DO believe the Vega Sicilia actually took the nod, but what a tasting.

quote:

Originally posted by KSC02:
The finest Priorat I've yet to experiance has been the 1998 L'Ermita. A phenominal wine full of grace, balance of depth. Beautiful.

I am envious. The 2004 and 2005 l'Ermita were my wine of the year and runner up in 1996 when we tasted them at the winery. Juan Ascens of the winery poured my wife and me each a glass of each wine. I looked at my wife, and I looked at the spit/dump bucket on the table, smiled at her, and said, "Don't dump." These wines were certainly young, but they had been decanted for us. I don't know how long they had been in the decanters.

If you ever make it down here, I have a white Priorat that should knock your socks off. I haven't tried this vintage of it yet, but the 2000 is one of the greatest whites from any country I've ever had. I have 6 bottles of the 2004 Mas d'en Gil Coma Blanca, which is, I believe, a blend of 50% Garnacha Blanca and 50% Macabeo. Several of us tried the 2000 with Marta Rovira, an owner of the winery, at a dinner at Le Perigord in NYC in November, 2006.

I'll keep an eye out for the Mas d'en Gil Coma Blanca. Hard to avoid this one after such a glowing recommendation.

Heading over to Italy next Spring, the trip (for us) will start in Spain. While Bodegas won't consume the trip, I won't miss visiting Alvaro's. I'm greatly looking forward to it.

KSC02,

We do need to pick a couple of stunning wineries to visit next year together.

The '98 L'Ermita we enjoyed ( my WOTN) reminded me very much of the '94.

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:
We do need to pick a couple of stunning wineries to visit next year together.

ABSOLUTELY!

quote:

Originally posted by KSC02:

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:
We do need to pick a couple of stunning wineries to visit next year together.

ABSOLUTELY!

It will be here before we know it!

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:

quote:

Originally posted by KSC02:

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:
We do need to pick a couple of stunning wineries to visit next year together.

ABSOLUTELY!

It will be here before we know it!

quote:

Originally posted by KSC02:
the trip (for us) will start in Spain. While Bodegas won't consume the trip

Surrender your tastevin!