Winemaker Notes
This is a single vineyard with an average vine age of 20 years. One of the first 5 great "clos" that catapulted the Priorat to fame.
Blend: 87% Garnacha, 12% Carinena, 1% White Varietals
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The single-vineyard 2020 Finca Dofí comes from the 14 hectares of vines planted across three parajes (lieu-dits) in Gratallops, a blend of 83% Garnacha, 12% Cariñena, 4% Picapoll—a grape with low sugar and high acidity (good for climate change) that he regrafted some four years ago—and 1% white grapes: Garnacha Blanca and Macabeo, all fermented in oak vats with 10% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in large oak barrels (bocoyes and foudres) for 15 months. It has good ripeness, 14.5% alcohol and a soft texture with nice balance, good freshness and fine tannins. 18,778 bottles and some other larger and smaller formats produced.
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Wine Spectator
A plush and harmonious red that starts quietly, with delicate notes of pureed raspberry, anise, thyme, violet and a streak of graphite- and stone-laced mineral slowly expanding on the silky palate. Long and seamlessly knit, with chalky tannins defining the sleek finish. Garnacha and Samsó.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
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.