The land

Priorat sits in the hill country of Catalonia, about 75 miles west of Barcelona. The defining feature is llicorella — a distinctive black schist soil with quartz inclusions that retains heat, reflects light onto the vines, and forces vine roots deep in search of water. The terrain is brutally steep; vineyards are often planted on terraces or as ungrafted bush vines on slopes that would be impossible to work mechanically. The region produces some of the most concentrated wines in Europe from very low yields.

The revival

Priorat had been an important wine region until phylloxera destroyed almost all the vineyards in the late 19th century. The region effectively went dormant until the late 1980s, when a group of pioneering producers — Álvaro Palacios (of Rioja’s Palacios family), René Barbier, Carles Pastrana, José Luis Pérez, and Daphne Glorian — collaboratively re-planted and rebuilt the region from scratch. Their first commercial vintages in the early 1990s were an international sensation, and Priorat has been one of Spain’s most prestigious DOCa appellations ever since.

The grapes

Traditional Priorat is based on Garnacha (Garnacha Tinta) and Cariñena (Mazuelo), often from very old vines (some pre-phylloxera, ungrafted). Modern blends often include Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot — though the traditional Garnacha-Cariñena blends from old-vine sites are the most respected. Whites (a tiny minority) are based on Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo, and occasionally international varieties.

Style of the wines

Deeply concentrated, mineral, structured reds. Black cherry, black plum, fig, dried herbs, smoke, iron-and-graphite mineral spine, sometimes a tar-and-licorice note in the most serious examples. Tannin is firm; acid is moderate to bright; alcohol is high (14-15.5%). The minerality from the llicorella schist is the defining feature — Priorat wines taste literally of the place.

Vintages to know

2019 — outstanding. 2016 — legendary. 2015 — concentrated. 2010 — exceptional.

Producers we know

Álvaro Palacios (especially L’Ermita and Finca Dofí — L’Ermita is one of the cult bottles of modern Spanish wine), Clos Mogador (René Barbier), Mas Doix, Clos Erasmus (Daphne Glorian), Costers del Siurana (Clos de l’Obac), Vall Llach.