I've opened or ordered countless bottles of Priorat over the years. Lots of friends, say, to the effect of, "Hmm, I've never heard of Priorat. Is that near Rioja." Their first sip, or quaff, depending on how vigorously they drink it, makes them a believer.
I tell everyone who asks (and some who don't) that Priorat is my favorite Spanish wine region, with Rioja second and Ribera del Duero my third. Those three tend to be the ones I buy at home, although when I am in country, I expand my selections to the regions near to where we are, including Penedes and Montsant while here in Barcelona.
(Well, I don't tell that to Torie. She's biased toward Rioja and tends not to accept my opinion of Priorat as my favorite. It's just easier to avoid arguing wine regions of Spain with a daughter who spent a semester in Sevilla.)
We had started drinking Priorat after an intriguing email from WineAccess years ago was selling Trio Infernal (now L'Infernal). The pitch included talk of the steep hills, rocky slate soil, and garage made wines of Priorat. Since then, Priorats have become a staple on the table, including Vall Llach, Clos Mogador (I bought some on the "cheap" once and have slowly been parceling those out) and now others.
If you buy some Priorat based on this post (and, really, why wouldn't you?), open it a half hour before you plan to drink it and let it breathe in the glass (you don't need a decanter to let wine breathe -- just pour a couple of glasses and show some patience).
This is a long introduction to say that I had arranged a wine tour of Priorat. Pavel and our driver (I never really caught his name, but he was a dead ringer for a thinner version of the late actor Peter Boyle) picked us up promptly at nine am in their minivan.
Getting out of Barcelona was pretty easy. While there was massive traffic coming in at rush hour, there was not much at all going out. As we drove along the coast and then turned inland toward the mountainous region of Priorat, Pavel talked about Priorat wine, and what makes it so special.
He also noted that most people do not want the 105-120 minute drive to Priorat and are content to go to the closer Penedes wine region for their tour. He says only the real wine lovers want to go as far as Priorat. The main grapes of Priorat are Garnacha (Granacha) and Carinena (Carignan). They have added Cab Sauv, Merlot, Syrah, and Picapoll.
The last grape is one we had literally never heard of until our trip to Priorat. It's mostly used in small quantities, two percent of a wine here, five percent there. A quick googling leads me to learn that the grape is also grown in the Rhone and Languedoc regions of France.
Up until thirty years ago, the winemakers of Priorat focused on making cheap table wines. Then, a winemaker of cheap stuff told his son to go to France if he wanted to make good wine. The son rebelled, and believed he could make great wine in Priorat. Robert Parker tasted it, and loved it.
Priorat quickly became a somewhat booming area, with the wines much more in demand. I say "somewhat booming" for several reasons:
1. The land is very austere here, full of black slate and hills. The vines are planted much further apart than in most vineyards, because competition for water among the vines is quite fierce.
2. There are no Napa-style chateaus or big tasting rooms. The wines are made in the garages of the tiny villages that dot the region. The garages tend to be on the street, and the winemakers live above where they make the wine.
3. The vineyards are small but the work is hard. Because of the hillsides, the grapes must be picked by hand. That's 20-30 days of hard work (not that the rest of the work is easy, but this is particularly difficult).
The good news is that the low yields per hectare lead to high quality, great wine. Priorat is one of the driest, hottest regions in Spain, blessed by a combination of Mediterranean climate and some altitude.
Although I was tired from riding in the car and tempted to doze off, Pavel's talk led to questions from Carol and I. All in all, we learned a lot on the drive over. I had found the tour by cruising around the internet -- the link is here. Booking a private tour with a driver and a guide for a day isn't cheap, but we were only going to do one day of wine touring, so we didn't want to do a touristy bus or van!
We pulled into the town of Porrera, The small village of around 500 people has a concentrated number of wineries. We went into the restaurant in the center of town, and waited for the couple who owns the first winery we would be touring.
While we were waiting, I saw a truck with Vall Llach on it. I've probably quaffed more of their wines than any other from Priorat combined. Turns out their garage is right there in town. Also, only about one-third of Priorat wines (all Spanish wines?) are allowed to be sold in-country, while the rest need to be exported.
They popped up, appreciative of a break from picking grapes. They've been at it since 7 am, and, given their age, they don't do the steep hillside, just picking in the valley.
We followed their car over an ancient bridge, past the Vall Llach garage, and out to the vineyard on a dirt track where we had to pull off the road once to let a piece of farm machinery go past in the other direction. Somehow these single lane tracks are two-way. Although I suppose there's not much of a rush hour.
Cellar selfie! In the cellar of Celler Cal Pla.
We arrived to see two people picking grapes up on the steep hill. Dominic Bairaguet owns the winery, and her husband Paco Castillo helps run it. They had been farmers when the Priorat rush hit. They bought up these seven hectares and started making wine in 2002. For a while, they had a wine consultant as the winemaker.
Their daughter Ingrid went to Tarragona University to study viticulture and has been in charge of making the wine for multiple years now. Paco notes that he has two bosses, his wife and daughter.
We spent a little time with Dominic, but it was harvest time and she was busy. Paco served as our guide. It's pretty amazing that one of the key people can set aside that much time to deal with two people, but as one winemaker once told me, "Wine is sold one bottle at a time."
We walked along the valley vines, tasting some of the grapes and admiring the scenery and the bunches. We then turned up the hill, as Pavel both translated Paco's observations on the grapes and the vineyard, and shared his own knowledge of the place.
Alongside the vines were olive trees (they make a modest press of olive oil each year), almonds, and hazelnuts. Paco would pull off some almonds, which we alternatively pried open or busted open with rocks. This stuff always tastes best where it is grown. The hazelnut was tasty as well.
We did not eat any olives, because, well, olives for oil taste terrible.
I'm actually not big on wine tours, because a lot time that means sitting in a room in a big house, looking out through a window at the vineyards, listening to the latest hire drone on about the wines. In the Monticello AVA, when we go to wineries near Wintergreen, we buy a bottle and sit outside and enjoy the views, rather than stand in the tasting room and, well, taste.
Walking around the vineyard, tasting different grapes and nuts, quickly made this the best wine tour we'd ever done. This is what I want out of a wine tour -- to walk the ground, listen to one of the owners, and get a real feel for the terroir.
We probably spent just a half hour walking the land, but it was the best half hour of a wine tour we've ever done (I guess I keep saying that, but it's true).
The seven hectare vineyard for Clos Dominic.
Seven hectares is just over 17 acres. They
produce just 15,000 bottles of wine
per year from those seven hectares.
It is the middle of the harvest time. Note
how far apart each vine is from the other.
Because of the slate filled soil, they
need that much space.
The circled person is a person(!)
This picture shows just part
of the steepness of the hill.
There's a lot of vineyard not
in the picture. That's a lot of work!
See you in three-five years!
Olive trees line the dirt road.
Look at this beautiful old vine.
This is the flat stretch, so the vines can be closer.
Carol inspects the grapes. She
approves, so they will be harvested.
Look at how steep the hill is.
Paco found some white Grenache
(or Garnacha) grapes that were missed
in the white wine grape harvest.
They were tasty.
Back in Porrera, we went into their garage. The first thing you notice is the boxes of just picked grapes. . .the morning's harvest so far.
They also don't have the huge gleaming fermentation tanks that you see at most wineries. Oh, they probably have six or so fermentation tanks, but they are crowded in on top of each other. Paco opened the latest tank of grapes that were separating the juice from the skins before the crusher. Apparently stomping the grapes, even in as rustic a spot as Priorat, is no longer a thing.
He took a big shovel and stirred (picture below), but that was for show. He does a complete stirring twice a day, once in the early morning and once in the late afternoon. Their cute grandson played nearby, and Paco is clearly a doting grandfather.
We then headed down into the dark wine cellar to see the barrels and do the tasting. We tried several whites, and then three reds -- going from cheapest to most expensive. They were all good, so we bought two bottles of both the mid-range and the top red. I'm writing this on Sunday morning, and, although the tour was Thursday, we've yet to open any of the bottles because first I was sick on Friday, and then Carol has been sick yesterday. (We have two different things, so I did NOT give Carol my issues.)
On our way out, we met Ingrid and thanked her for her great work. All in all, it was a great visit.
Many of these garages on this
narrow street are where the
wines are made and bottled.
Including Clos Dominic.
Grapes from the morning harvest.
Paco stirs the grapes twice a day during the
skin/juice separation process. This is not
the actual stirring, but a great photo opp!
Some of the fermentation tanks. It's
a key part of the wine-making process,
so you have to say, "tanks a lot!"
Remember, this means Dec. 1, 2017, so
this wine has been in the barrels for 22
months so far.
Clos Dominic started making wines 20 years ago,
and these bottles are from that first vintage.
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