Winemaker Notes
Ferrer Bobet’s Vinyes Velles is an old vine blend of Carignane and Grenache. It’s produced from some of the best steep slate hillside and terraced vineyards in Priorat.
Blend: 74% Cariñena, 26% Garnacha
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Vinyes Velles was produced with 74% Cariñena and 26% Garnacha from slope vineyards older than 70 years on llicorella slate soils all within the limits of the village of Porrera. All of the wines are produced in a similar way—fermentation after a short cold soak, with pumping over and punching down and macerated until the taste tells them it's enough. This wine matured in 225-liter French barriques for 16 months. In a warmer year, the high percentage of Cariñena has worked wonders; it has herbal and floral aromas and a rustic side but is mostly elegant. It's beautifully textured, and the tannins are very fine; there is no sense of heat at all, and it has amazing balance and a very tasty finish. The oak is perfectly integrated. These wines have a very low pH, as there is no potassium in the slate soils and the wines keep good freshness.
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Wine Spectator
The medley of black cherry, currant and plum is focused and lively and flanked with tar, smoke and spice undertones. This has depth, freshness and harmony of flavors.
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Decanter
Sergi Ferrer-Salat and Raül Bobet, with their glorious winery, have always presented a model for the pure, polished expression of Cariñena, in particular their Selecció Especial, a worthy DWWA winner in the past. The Garnacha in this blend is harmonious, with a tempting lift of acid just at the finish.
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.