Winemaker Notes
Escurçons is exclusively made of Red Grenache and comes from the vineyard of the same name situated within the lands of Gratallops village wines at the top of the Serra Alta hill.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Bright-rimmed ruby. Mineral-accented aromas of fresh red and blue fruits, along with suggestions of exotic spices, potpourri and licorice. Stains the palate with sappy, mineral-accented black raspberry, cherry and mulberry flavors, while smoky minerality adds energetic lift and spine. Polished tannins shape the finish, which clings with excellent tenacity and resonating mineral, spice and floral notes. All whole clusters.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Els Escurçons comes from a 20-year-old vineyard, a massal selection of old Garnacha from Porrera on south- and southwest-facing terraces of ferruginous decomposed llicorella slate. In June 2015, 30 hectares of forest around the vineyard burned down, and 10% of the vines also died. The vineyard expression has been coming back since 2016, but they feel it has changed, as the vegetation around it has disappeared. The first two vintages after the fire showed anger and stress, and 2018 begins to be more open, more relaxed, a process that seems to culminate in 2020. The full clusters were crushed and put into 200-liter amphorae where they fermented with indigenous yeasts for three weeks. The wine matured in glass demijohns for 13 months. It has a strong note of iron intermixed with aromatic herbs and flowers and is fluid and gentle, with very fine tannins. The profile of all of these 2018s is elegant and fresh, quite different from the past. It has a very stony and somehow wild personality. 3,465 bottles, 40 magnums and some larger formats were filled in November 2019.
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Wine Spectator
This refined red has a juicy profile, with raspberry coulis, rosewater, cedar and steeped currant flavors. Polished tannins give this a smooth texture, with elements of licorice, mineral and herb folding into the finish. Drink now through 2029. 250 cases made, 20 cases imported.
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.