So I have been thinking Priorat, lets share a bottle on line?!!

I always like coming up with new ideas! Last year on a UK wine forum, we had a weekend when we all tasted and discused the `99 Musar. It was a lot of fun and about 12 participants took part…varying notes and opinions naturally.
Priorat is a wine I have little experience with ( cost might be a factor!) but I was thinking it could be fun to have a general tasting here say one weekend.
There are limited choices out there on the shelves so my suggestion would be to just select one bottle, taste and report here. Maybe there is an enthusiast here on this forum who could possibly guide us in our selection?

I am keen to organise so let me know what you think?

Bob from Alberta.

Great idea, Bob - it’s been a while since we had a virtual offline, and never before with Priorat…

I should be able to source something, so count me in.

Todd, thanks. I like to plan stuff like this.
Over on the UK forum, it is called Open House. Patented as it was my idea first!!!
Perhaps if we go with this, we could decide on a possible title? Do we just go…“Virtual Offline: Priorat” or think of something more chatty/more interactive.

Bob.

The way it typically works over here is that the person who thought of it starts the thread, sets the theme and the weekend/day, and updates the post/thread as needed…go for it

Bob:

I wil suggest sticking to one producer to see the difference between vintages and when do you prefer drinking them or stick to a vintage to see the different styles between producers, grape blends and villages.

Priorat wines are not cheap so you will be spending no less than $30 on the lower end and the upper end could set you back over $300. The majority of wines are in the $75-$125 range.

1998, 2001, 2004 and 2005 are great vintages for the Priorat region. The last two are probably the ones easier to find in the market.

2006, 2002 and 2003 are not great vintages in Priorat and unless you are getting a substantial discount on those vintages compared to the great vintages I would avoid them. Also, trying the off vintages would not be the best way to test the waters of Priorats to determine if you like the region or not.

I could give you suggestions on wines after you determine which way you want to approach the virtual offline.

SALUDos,
José

Jose, thanks for your suggestion/ideas. I was going to contact you via PM.
The big problem I have here is that there is a very limited selection in my area, and no doubt in other areas where forumites live. Choice on the shelf is always an issue when one plans something like this. Many in the UK wanted to take part in the 99 Musar offline/online but could not find the vintage, so we expanded it to 00 as well.
Jose, perhaps you could give us some idea of quote " entry level Priorats" to look out for, then those of us not familiar with the region can go out and scout around.
I hope there are a few forumites out there who would like to take part/learn/discuss! Joe is on board already.

Bob

Bob:

Most of Priorat wines are low production so getting older wines is not always feasible and then you run with the issue of provenance. My recommendation is to limit the virtual tasting to the 2004 and 2005 vintages which were great and recently released.

Entry level Priorats (Less than $45) you should look for are Embruix, Genium, Joan Giné Crianza, Martinet Brut, Laurel, Les Terrases, Onix, Salanques Salmos, & Solanes.

If you can, let me know which are the Priorats available in your area and their prices so I can have a better idea what’s available in your market and its price point.

You could also throw in a wine from Montsant as a ringer since that region surrounds Priorat and has similar terroirs and grapes but their prices are less expensive than their Priorat counterparts.

SALUDos,
José

After a search through CT I see that I have 2 of these, I guess it will be my entry.
2005 Domini de la Cartoixa “Clos Galena”

A couple of quick thoughts:

• Priorat need not be terribly expensive. Lots of good wines between $20 and $70. I’d actually say that after about $70 quality falls off again as the wines just get oakier and riper, by and large, not actually better.

• 2006 doesn’t strike me as being such a bad vintage as other people seem to think.

• However, saying that, 01 and 04 are the best options for vintages to taste based on what people are likely to have.

• I’d love to do this, I would probably have some friends over and open a few bottles. I like Priorat a lot and have a lot of 98-01 and 04-06 wines… 02 can be perfectly fine but I never found compelling enough prices, and I largely skipped 03.

Bob - Jose knows Priorat better than most people and I’d follow his recs before anyone else’s, but good luck finding the Laurel.

Embruix, les Terrasses, Salanques and Martinet Brut show up. If you find Laurel, count yourself lucky. It seems to disappear really fast. Onix is almost always available here in NYC and for good reason - it pretty much sucks. Haven’t checked WineSearcher tho, so maybe it’s not all that hard.

In any event, Priorat is one of the very few regions where it really matters whether you’re going upscale or down. Normally I’m not one to advocate paying more, but there’s really a difference in the “better” wines and the lesser. For ex, the difference between Cims and Solanes or Dofi and Terasses or Embruix and Val Llach. I have more of the cheaper ones around because I didn’t want to pay the extra, but I’ve almost never been all that happy with them when I open one for my wife and me. They’re OK but I always think there’s better for the same price. At the upper level, they’re clearly better and it’s more about your personal preferences, not so much about overall quality. Laurel is one of the only ones that really makes a great lower end, but maybe that’s just my preference.

Maybe that’s something you can explore.

Have a fun tasting.

Josh - what are the great values in the range you mention? The problem with Priorat is that there aren’t enough of those.

Well, I checked the website of my fave winestore downtown and found this list.



2001 Celler de l’Encastell Roquers de Porrera Grenache-Carignan (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $174.99 (1.5L)

2004 Mas Doix Costers de Vinyes Velles (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $131.99 (750mL)

2003 Rotllan Torra Tirant (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $109.99 (750mL)

2004 Mas Martinet Clos Martinet (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $81.99 (750mL)

2006 Gratavinum Gv5 (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $74.99 (750mL)

2001 Celler de l’Encastell Roquers de Porrera Grenache-Carignan (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $69.99 (750mL)

2002 Cellers Ripoll Sans Closa Batllet (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $69.99 (750mL)

2001 Celler del Pont Lo Givot (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $68.99 (750mL)

2005 Miguel Torres Perpetual Salmos (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $57.99 (750mL)

2005 Alvaro Palacios Les Terrasses (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $49.99 (750mL)

2005 Mas Martinet Bru (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $43.99 (750mL)

2005 Miguel Torres Salmos (Priorat, Spain)
Wine - Red $36.99 (750mL)

Before gasping at the possible high prices, remember this is Alberta with the varying tax levels and agent/s mark ups! (Yup, I know prices are generally high for Priorat).

Bob,

Llach Embruix is also fairly readily available in Alberta (at least in Calgary). I’ve got some 04 in the cellar. Other than that, I’ve not seeked it out much so I’m not sure what else is available.

Dana

Thanks Dana for an uncomplicated response!! Never thought this subject might be easy. Scratching my head right now!
I really appreciate all the interest and imput from everyone, we will work something out eh.

Of course opinions vary (always some contention in the Spanish threads) but the wines I like the best in that range are:

Clos Mogador (usually $60-70 if you look around a bit)
Clos Martinet (ditto)
Trio Infernal 1/3 (~$40)
Mas Doix Salanques (~$30-35)
Domini la Cartoixa Galena (~$20-25)
Martinet Bru ($25-$30)
Rotllan Torra Tirant ($60-70)

Other wines that fit the cost profile but and are more popular with others include:
Palacios Terrasses ($30?)
Palacios Finca Dofi ($70?)
Clos Erasmus Laurel ($40-50, I used to like this wine a lot but my tastes have changed some)
Vall Llach Embruix ($30)
Vall Llach (~$60-$70?)
Mas Romani Artigas ($25?)
Mas Romani Basseta ($60?)
Closa Batllet ($45?)
Gran Clos ($50-$60?)
Clos del l’Obac (not sure on price haven’t seen a bottle in a while)

And there are a lot of newcomers I haven’t had as well…

Thanks for adding some more names to the list Josh. I was looking around downtown yesterday afternoon and came across a few mentioned here.

There was an `03 Clos Severi from Mas Garrian that caught my eye. Not sure if links are allowed here?

http://www.masgarrian.com/#?tab_id=menu4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Links ARE allowed here - we’re ITB-friendly, that’s why we even have separate sub-forums to make retailers and winemakers feel at home. They are obviously an integral part of our experience as wine lovers, so I don’t see the need to shun them.

On the Priorat idea, if you want to go ahead with it, post a ‘Virtual Offline’ (with a date or weekend) in the Offline Planner, see what happens. If I am to contribute, I have to get some Priorat!

I have to think my idea is a bit of a minefield. I did not realise the broad width of the subject Priorat so I think I might have to come up with another idea!! I do have my thinking cap on so stay tuned!
I want to thank all those who came here and gave such valuable insight. I have learnt a lot from all of you.

Bob in Alberta.

Lets make this a more regular thing. I wouldn’t worry too much about everyone being able to source a bottle. I say name a region and a vintage (or range of vintages), and those that have (or can source), drink. Those that don’t participate in this one can jump on the next one.