Articles

The 8th VideNit changes things up

by  |  05-07-2017

This past weekend saw the 8th edition of “VideNit” hosted at the rural hotel of Mas Figueres in Marçà. It marked a rather large change from the previous seven events as they’ve moved it to... more »

Tast del Decenni of 2007 in 2017

by  |  11-05-2017

What is now my fourth sojourn into the world of Priorat wine with a decade to its name, I attended the Tast del Decenni or “Decade Tasting” last week. You can read the notes of... more »

Tast del Decenni of 2007 DO Montsant

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Following are the tastings notes for the 2007 DO Montsant wines. Please read my reflections on this tasting and the vintage as a whole first. Not that while I’m quite happy normally using my three... more »

Tasting four decades

by  |  21-01-2017

It’s a fun stunt to try and taste the decades of your life via bottles of wine. As one gets older, it becomes ever more difficult as the older wines get more scarce, somewhat giving... more »

In The Glass: Vinyes d’en Gabriel – Cuvilà 2014

by  |  09-11-2016

As I mentioned in the article about the vintage of 2014, it was not an easy year and a rough go for the winemakers. In general, there seemed to be two camps in dealing with... more »

When making (experiments in) wine

by  |  20-10-2016

Much like when an actor decides to record a music album, it takes a pretty arrogant wine writer to decide to make wine and even more so for a sommelier. Given that I’m both of... more »

The new “institutional wines” of DO Montsant

by  |  08-07-2016

DO Montsant has just announced their new “institutional wines”. In brief, these are a red and white wine that will be used for the next 1-2 years to demonstrate what is seen to be the... more »

Cooperatives, terroir, and finding place in 21st Catalonia

by  |  05-07-2016

Previously, I wrote about the rise of the small cellars in DO Montsant which, unsurprisingly was well-received by those in this DO who have been working hard to present a unified front of quality wines... more »

Taking a balanced look at the Priorats

by  |  16-05-2016

Whether viewing it as a yolk and its white or a donut and its hole, it’s hard not to see DOQ Priorat and DO Montsant closely linked given that the latter wraps nearly completely around... more »

In The Glass: Vinyes d’en Gabriel – Mans de Samsó 2013

by  |  12-05-2016

It takes visiting large production regions such as Rioja or Napa where they tout a wine as “small production” at 5,000 bottles to really appreciate the all-too typical story in both DOQ Priorat & DO... more »