Winemaker Notes
Escurçons is a journey through time; a look, a reflexion of the wine that used to be made on this very vineyard before phylloxera by the people of Ca l’Olives.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A small fraction of the reds are bottled without any added sulfur and go to specific customers, but it's not a commercial wine. I tasted one of those bottles: the 2021 Els Escurçons. It is pretty, pale, perfumed, ethereal, vibrant and clean, with no fault or deviations. The regular bottling is more Priorat in style, even darker, a little wilder (à la Jura), with a touch of cider that is a bit disconcerting, characterful, with perfume and a faint earthiness, going toward a similar profile as the non-sulfured cuvée. The palate is serious and velvety, with some dusty tannins and a moderate 13.5% alcohol, lighter than the more-traditional Priorats, fine-boned and very tasty. A very unusual Priorat.
Barrel Sample: 95? -
Vinous
The 2021 Escurçons is 100% Garnatxa sourced from Gratallops in Priorat. It was fermented with stems for five weeks in amphorae, then aged for 13 months in glass demijohns. Garnet in hue, this unique wine offers vermouth-like aromas of thyme, rosemary, white pepper, orange peel and a hint of struck match. Dry on the palate, it’s structured around grippy tannins from the stems, delivering a distinctive character that lingers on a wild, sulfite-free finish. This is a well-crafted, geeky wine with a surly mountain character.
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Wine Spectator
Bright and racy, driven by a tangy thread of tangerine peel acidity and tar-tinged minerality. This is herbaceous and well-spiced, with flavors of wild raspberry and mulberry fruit structured by fine, taut tannins. Best from 2026 through 2034.
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.