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PREMIUM

Priorat reds: Panel tasting results

Plenty of high scores and a general consensus among our judges show that Priorat’s wine styles are evolving fast towards greater finesse and diversity, reports Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW.

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.

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.

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