Priorat reds: Panel tasting results

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Simon Field MW tasted 87 wines with three Outstanding and 44 highly Recommended…

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their latest-release reds from Priorat, with availability in UK or US markets

The verdict

Priorat is entering into a new phase of its modern history. The region is very prestigious, which has been vital in enhancing its self-confidence and its scope to be able to experiment and develop greater diversity within a well-defined overall identity. The permitted international grape varieties, so important in the early success of Priorat wines, now play second fiddle to Garnacha and Cariñena.

Key to quality in the region are viticulture and winemaker personality. Climate change is a factor – the last few years have seen a succession of extreme drought seasons, with record high temperatures interspersed with heavy rains, often coming at a bad moment. Vine-growers have been able to maintain very good quality despite these difficulties. One consequence of such developments is the rise of Cariñena – sturdy, reliable and great when yields are moderate – to star status alongside Garnacha. Very interestingly, the three top wines in this tasting are Cariñena-based.

Scroll down to see the tasting notes & scores

The tasting was presented village by village. Unsurprisingly, Escaladei, Porrera and Gratallops earned most of the high accolades, while Vilella Alta, El Molar and Morera de Montsant were below (a very good) average. Clay soils in Escaladei give wines a different character, particularly in the Cariñena – a lovely contribution to diversity.

There were few surprises in terms of the producer names at the top, and very few wines showed the volatile acidity, oxidation or excessive alcohol problems that were more usual in the past. Clearly, though, some producers are still experimenting, with uneven results. There were some wines showing early oxidation, even a slight mustiness, which may result from winemaking practices.

While it was too soon to evaluate any differences between the new Priorat wine categories, we could certainly appreciate an extra element of finesse in some of the wines claiming a selected vineyard origin.

The ageing potential of Priorat wines is particularly tricky to evaluate. Past experiences have been mixed. Some wines, even among the great ones, go downhill relatively quickly, while others develop amazing refinement and complexity with time – but there is no clear way to assess this when the wines are young, and beyond about seven to 10 years the need for further ageing is a matter of opinion. Maybe the best option is to have several bottles in your cellar and to make up your own mind by trying the wines over a number of years.

In terms of vintages, the three top-scorers here were from 2016 – clearly superior to 2014 and 2015. There were too few wines from the iconic 2013 vintage to form any conclusion. Most of the best 2017s are not yet in the market, so judgements cannot yet be made.

The three judges were broadly in agreement, each of us tending to mark down wines with excessive oak, lack of balance or jammy fruit, and to reward restrained elegance and complexity. Although Priorat wines usually have at least 14% alcohol – and often in excess of 15.5% – they were quite smooth to taste; we did not feel particularly tired after the tasting. This would have been impossible 20 years ago. Well done to the producers!

Overall, the tasting was very good: more than half the wines were Highly Recommended and above; there were 27 wines with 88-89pts, and many of those would be likely to gain higher marks in a less competitive tasting. Considering that some of the region’s most iconic wines did not participate, there is a sound rationale to state that Priorat is clearly a classic fine wine region with a justified prestige.

The scores

87 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 3

Highly Recommended 44

Recommended 34

Commended 3

Fair 1

Poor 0

Faulty 2

See all wines from this panel tasting

About Priorat

Now a byword for top quality with its full-bodied reds, this precipitous Catalan region has attracted some of Spain’s finest producers since its potential was revealed. Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW investigates…

It’s one of those miracle regions that any investor dreams of finding. Despite 900 years of written fine wine history, after the Spanish civil war (1939) the area was in the doldrums, with only two active wineries, specialised in rancio wines. In the early 1970s, a report on development prospects in the region, published by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, concluded that Priorat had all the attributes of a top quality wine region. Fifteen years more passed by until a group of five friends, led by René Barbier, bought some land and grapes and started producing, in a co-op winery, modern-style wines. The success was almost immediate.

Nowadays, more than 500 vine growers and 109 wineries populate Priorat. This is one of the rare appellations with a clear image of quality and identity. Some of Priorat’s wines are among the most sought after in the world.

Together with Rioja (DOCa) Priorat is the only qualified designation of origin (expressed as DOQ in Catalan) in Spain – a regulation requiring stricter quality conditions. However, under Alvaro Palacios’ enthusiastic leadership, Priorat is now moving even further ahead.

Recently, the region became Spain’s first appellation to adopt a comprehensive zonification approach, to a degree inspired by Burgundy. There are five different wine categories, in a pyramid structure, starting from a base of generic wines, then ‘vi de vila’ (village wines), ‘vi de paratge’ (like a cru), ‘vinya classificada’ (premier cru) and ‘gran vinya classificada’ (grand cru). In this panel tasting, where wines were flighted by village, tasters had an opportunity to assess the rationale behind such classification.

Star quality

Priorat producers extol the exceptional character of their famed llicorella slate soil. But there are other soil types: I would recommend trying wines from clay soils, which give a very different expression. Vineyards are planted at between 300m-600m altitude, mostly on steep slopes and terraces. The climate is distinctly Mediterranean, with scorching dry summers and relatively cold winters because of the altitude.

Garnacha and Cariñena (or Samsó) are the genetic material behind the magic of Priorat, while other grape varieties are also authorised: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah are indeed quite common in the blends.

Priorat: The facts

Plantings (2018): 2,010ha, (1,872ha red grapes, 138ha white grapes)

Production (2018): 6.5m Kg (6m Kg red varieties, the rest white; 2.7m Kg Garnacha, 1.6m Kg Cariñena), equivalent to about 4.5m bottles

Average yield: 3,200Kg/Ha (comparing to 5,281Kg/Ha* overall for Rioja reds in 2017)

Number of vine growers: 535

Number of wineries: 109

*Source: Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja

Priorat: Know your vintages

2017 One of the most difficult vintages – extremely dry and hot. Only old-vine Garnacha and Cariñena yielded quality. Give the best eight years to unfurl.

2016 Drought marked the vintage, provoking hydric stress. Old vines showed their advantage. Many impressive wines – at least 10 years ahead.

2015 Warm and abundant, with good quality overall. Concentrated wines, the best should develop well over 10 years.

2014 A difficult year, with rain episodes during harvest, but excellent conditions for late-ripening varieties. Uneven quality.

2013 A very cold winter gave way to a rainy spring and then a dry summer and autumn. Great quality, long ageing potential, probably more than 15 years.

2012 Very dry growing season, but good healthy grapes. Nice ageing potential, until 2024.

Priorat wine styles have changed a lot over the last 30 years. Initially, the wines tended to be powerful, with lots of tannins, alcohol and oak. Then, producers started placing more emphasis on finesse. Now, Priorat offers an amazing diversity of styles. This is not only due to the region’s diversity of soils and microclimates, but also to the high number of characterful winemakers attracted by Priorat. If there is one cluster of wine creativity in Spain, it is to be found here.

Let’s not forget, too, that Priorat can also yield excellent white and rancio wines.

Top 32 Priorat wines from the panel tasting:

The following wines scored 91 points and above

See all the wines tasted here

The judges

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW

A DWWA joint Regional Chair for Spain, Ballesteros Torres is a widely published wine journalist, educator and judge. He is a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino and on the governing board of the Spanish Tasters’ Union.

Sarah Jane Evans MW

One of our three DWWA Co-Chairs, Evans is an awarded journalist and author specialising in Spanish wines, food and culture. A member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, her most recent book is The Wines of Northern Spain (Infinite Ideas 2018).

Simon Field MW

Field was a buyer for Berry Bros & Rudd for more than two decades and now works as a consultant on areas which particularly interested him at that time, including Spain and the fortified category. He was admitted into the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino in 2015.