Onix Priorat 2009
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Robert
Parker
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The unoaked 2009 Onix Classic is a blend of 50% Carinena and 50% Garnacha sourced from vines over 60 years of age. Tempting aromas of liquid minerality, Asian spices, incense, black cherry, and black plum inform the nose of this savory, smooth, intensely flavored effort from an excellent vintage. Layered, spicy, and long, it finishes with no hard edges. Drink this outstanding value over the next 4-5 years.
Other Vintages
2007-
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
This winery today controls about 60% of all the production in Priorat. The grape varieties are 54% Mazuela, 40% Garnacha and 2% Garnacha Blanca. The vineyards are located at an altitude between 600 and 3,000 feet above sea level. The vines are trained in the vaso shape system. The soils are mostly dark slate known in Priorato as Licorellas in the areas of higher altitudes, intertwined with pebbles of quartzite.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Tiny and entirely composed of craggy, jagged and deeply terraced vineyards, Priorat is a Catalan wine-producing region that was virtually abandoned until the early 1990s. This Spanish wine's renaissance came with the arrival of one man, René Barbier, who recognized the region’s forgotten potential. He banded with five friends to create five “Clos” in the village of Gratallops. Their aim was to revive some of Priorat’s ancient Carignan vines, as well as plant new—mainly French—varieties. These winemakers were technically skilled, well-trained and locally inspired; not surprisingly their results were a far cry from the few rustic and overly fermented wines already produced.
This movement escalated Priorat’s popularity for a few reasons. Its new wines were modern and made with well-recognized varieties, namely old Carignan and Grenache blended with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. When the demand arrived, scarcity commanded higher prices and as the region discovered its new acclaim, investors came running from near and far. Within ten years, the area under vine practically doubled.
Priorat’s steep slopes of licorella (brown and black slate) and quartzite soils, protection from the cold winds of the Siera de Monstant and a lack of water, leading to incredibly low vine yields, all work together to make the region’s wines unique. While similar blends could and are produced elsewhere, the mineral essence and unprecedented concentration of a Priorat wine is unmistakable.