Winemaker Notes
Blend: 74% Garnacha, 25% Carinena, 1% White Varieties
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Precise nose with layers and layers of red berries, strawberries, blueberries, hibiscus, and minerals. Hint of moss, stems and white pepper, too. Beautifully knit and nimble with a precise, medium-bodied palate rounded by firm yet very silky, polished tannins. A refined, juicy finish with fine herbs that makes you crave a second glass. Really long.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The village red 2021 Gratallops was produced with a blend of 74% Garnacha, 25% Cariñena and 1% white grapes (Garnacha Blanca , Macabeo and PX) from different vineyards they own in Gratallops on llicorella slate soils. It fermented with 40% full clusters and matured in French oak foudres and large barrels for 14 months. It has 14.5% alcohol and a low pH of 3.34, keeping good acidity. The vintage was magic, with a spectacular snow storm in January. The wine is elegant, polished after the élevage. This is possibly the finest vintage of Gratallops, with a similar profile to the rest of 2021s, perhaps a little riper, quite fruit-driven, with warmth and freshness and very good overall balance. It develops notes of honey and beeswax with time in the glass. 17,300 bottles produced.
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Vinous
The 2021 Gratallops Vi de Vila is Garnatxa, Carinyena and dashes of other grapes sourced from various vineyards in the town of Gratallops in Priorat. This purple-hued wine features aromas of pomegranate and sour cherry, defining an enticing profile with hints of herbs and undergrowth.
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.