Articles

Carignan abounds, Tomas Cusiné – Finca Barqueres 2016

by  |  14-11-2018

Sometime back, a group of enologists in Catalunya called, “10 Sentits” (10 senses) made a Grenache-based wine called “Cat Negre” that was culled from all 10 DOs of Catalunya (they nixed DO Cava as it’s... more »

A heretic is born: Cellers de Scala Dei – l’Heretge 2016

by  |  16-10-2018

According to all facts and figures available, the Grenache grape is what dominates the vineyards and production in DOQ Priorat, standing at 39% of the total as of 2017. It used to be a bit... more »

Old co-op, new tricks. La Vinícola Priorat’s Vi de Vila.

by  |  19-06-2018

On June 9th, La Vinícola del Priorat launched a new series of wines that are all certified under Priorat’s “Vi de Vila”. This certification establishes that 100% of the grapes from the wine came from... more »
Old vines in the Mas de la Rosa vineyard

A Priorat tasting of Carignan without borders

by  |  02-05-2018

Fully booked! Sorry for those who couldn’t get in this time around! I have admittedly been a bit crazy about Carignan lately. It’s no wonder as I posted this large, “Grand Tasting of Carignan” from... more »

In The Glass: Recanati – Reserve Wild Carignan 2015

by  |  19-02-2018

It was 2014 and I was dining in Tel Aviv, bearing witness to a night that wore on with seemingly countless bottles emerging. Despite all that had come before, it took just one, a Carignan... more »

The Grand Carignan Tasting

by  |  08-01-2018

There existed a time when I was daft to the wiles and wonders of the grape, Carignan. Despite pockets of old vines in California it was essentially a lost variety. Little thought and even less... more »

Serra Barceló – The Octònia Time Machine

by  |  23-12-2017

Josep Serra (not to be confused with the la Vinyeta one) has in his possession two very nice vineyards that he bought back in 1998 which are located within the boundaries of the Capçanes village.... more »

Wine with a greater purpose: El Microscopi 2016

by  |  20-12-2017

Wine needs a story! So harps those in marketing these days and I have to agree that there is some truth to this as a wine without a story is essentially the beer, Coors Light.... more »

Introducing Cal Bessó

by  |  13-12-2017

It was a hot July because it’d been a hot year and the weather in 2017 hadn’t given much of a damn as to the comfort of human beings, let alone grapes. But one day... more »

Sangenís i Vaqué: a Priorat family

by  |  17-11-2017

Having roots in Spain’s Priorat wine region means having a family that has seen some incredibly bleak times. While in the late 1800s the region experienced a boom, due to phylloxera blighting France, once the... more »