Winemaker Notes
It shows a ripe cherry color with a bright violet rim, offering expressive aromas of wild red fruits complemented by fine toasted oak. The palate is fresh, gourmand, and elegant, carrying the classic mineral signature of the area and finishing long, lifted, and refined with persistent freshness.
Blend: 70% Garnacha, 20% Carinena, 5% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The red 2022 Font de la Figuera was produced with a blend of Garnacha, Cariñena, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah that fermented in 2,500-liter tanks and matured in 500-liter oak barrels for one year. It feels more harmonious and balanced than last year, despite being ripe and coming in at 15% alcohol. It has a touch of rusticity with dusty tannins when tasted next to the finer 2021. 8,900 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2024, a second lot that feels different from the first one.
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.