Winemaker Notes
Like the dusty, sun baked hills of Torroja in which it grows, there is a rugged, raw power to this wine. Opulent black fruits and rich aromas of smoke and spice swirl in the nearly black depths of the glass. Despite the initial hint of brawn, a serious, thoughtful character emerges with a bright, taut acidity and incredible momentum. Each sip becomes a mesmerizing whirlwind of the delicious power and energy, intensity and beauty that accompany any true infatuation.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Deep, whilst also elegant, composed, slightly shy and introverted. Exceptional balance and real harmony to this carignan, which shows cement, red dates, white pepper, herbs and fresh-toned blue and black berries. Very intellectual, honest and understated, with a smooth delivery of concentrated red-date and cranberry flavors. Stimulating and thought-provoking. A great wine.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Les Tosses is their top-of-the range, single-vineyard Cariñena from a high-altitude vineyard. It is open and expressive, juicy and approachable, even if it felt quite young and evolving at a slow pace. It has an elegant and perfumed nose, with none of the rusticity Cariñena can sometimes show. There is finesse and very tasty flavors, but it doesn't seem to have huge complexity. Will it become more complex with more time in bottle?
Responsible for some of the most stunning old vine red wine on the planet, Carignan has an amazing capacity to survive dry, arid climates and still produce lovely, mouthwatering wine. In Spain it goes by the name of Mazuelo or Cariñena and while it may have originated there in the province of Aragón, its popularity lies elsewhere, particularly in Languedoc-Roussillon. Somm Secret—Historically Carignan did not enjoy the respect that it does today. In the mid 20th century, Carignan covered nearly 140,000 ha in Algeria, where it was made into low quality bulk and blending wine to supply mass-market demand.
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.