Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Cami Pesseroles comes from an old vineyard planted with Garnacha and Cariñena on the old dirt road from Gratallops to Porrera. I walked the two slopes facing each other, one north-facing and the other south-facing where you see the difference in vegetation and plant vigor according to exposition. Even though it is a majority of Priorat slate, not all slates are the same and here the slate is kind of yellow, while in Escurçons it is distinctly red. This is a powerful, dramatic wine, earthy and surprisingly with some of the citric Garnacha grape character that leaves it feeling more aromatic and fresh. The palate is quite dry, has abundant dusty tannins, moderate acidity and lacks a little in the mid-palate.
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Wine Spectator
Cocoa, tar and sanguine notes frame plum and loamy earth flavors in this solid red. The tannins are firm and rather chewy, but balsamic acidity keeps this balanced. A deep, savory, slightly rustic style.
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.