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CLOS FIGUERES
"Christopher Cannan purchased the Priorat estate of Clos Figueres in 1997 on the advice of René Barbier of Clos Mogador. The vineyards cover some 10 hectares. There are about 2500 old Carignan and Grenache vines planted more than 20 years ago for the Clos Figueres label. The remainder, about 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, some Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre were planted in 1998 and are used for the production of Font de la Figuera. The location is just to the north of Gratallops on terraced slopes of pure schist, the soil responsible for the finest wines of Priorat. From these high terraces, the views are wonderful...in one direction the famous L'Ermita vineyard and the craggy Montsant mountain range behind it; in the other a long-distance vista featuring the Ebro Valley and more mountains beyond. René Barbier's team takes care of the vineyards as well as the vinification and aging of the wines. Thanks to the Barbier family's talents and dedication Clos Figueres should soon rank with the best of Priorat, while the second wine, Font de la Figuera, represents remarkable value for the region."
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Clos Figueres Priorat 2005
“This flavorful effort should drink well through 2020. The 2005 Clos Figueres, a blend of Garnacha, Carinena, Syrah, and Mourvedre, is opaque purple-colored. It delivers a complex and expressive perfume of smoky oak, pencil lead, mineral, spice box, black cherry, blueberry, and black raspberry. This leads to a dense, opulent wine that still manages to retain some elegance. Ripe and sweet, this hedonistic effort should evolve for 3-5 years and drink well through 2025."
Expected arrival date: End of May, 2008
Wine Advocate: 96
Regular Price: $89.99Sale Price: $71.99
Bottle Size: 750 ml
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AGAIN, THIS WINE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED, SO ONE BOTTLE PER PERSON ON THIS ONE!
ALVARO PALACIOS
"If anyone embodies the promise and spirit of “The New Spain,” it is 43-year-old Alvaro Palacios. His L’Ermita is widely considered— along with Peter Sisseck’s Dominio de Pingus— to be the most important Spanish wine in a generation.
One of nine children born to the owners of Rioja’s respected Palacios Remondo, Alvaro studied enology in Bordeaux, while working under Jean-Pierre Moueix at Ch. Pétrus. He credits his tenure at Pétrus for much of his winemaking philosophy and for showing him "the importance of great wines."
Alvaro could have returned to the security of his family’s domaine. Instead, he was drawn to remote and wildly beautiful Priorat, 60 miles from Barcelona, which had been one of Spain’s important pre-Phylloxera wine regions. With its unique terroir of steep hills and terraces Alvaro believed that here he could make a wine that was like a cross between Pétrus and Grange.
He acquired his first vineyard, Finca Dofí, in 1990. Then, in 1993, he located what is now regarded as the crown jewel property in Priorat, a precipitous, northeast-facing Garnacha vineyard on well-drained schist that had been planted between 1900 and 1940. Alvaro named it for a small chapel, or hermitage, that sits atop the hill.
In 1995, the flow of critical praise for Alvaro’s L’Ermita began, and it hasn’t stopped. But while L’Ermita has received most of the attention, Alvaro produces two other wines compelling in their own rights: Finca Dofí and Les Terrasses.
Les Terraces. Due to its extraordinary quality and attractive price, Les Terrasses has acquired a passionate following all its own. Alvaro relies on some of Priorat’s finest small growers to produce this wine; to get the best fruit from the steepest and oldest vineyards, he has been known to offer them three times the going rate. Les Terrasses consists of approximately 30% Garnacha, 60% Cariñena, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon."
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Alvaro Palacios Les Terraces 2005
The 2005 Les Terrasses is sourced from a biodynamically farmed vineyard. This purple-hued wine offers an already complex bouquet of mineral, pencil lead, scorched earth, leather, and black cherry. This is followed by a full-flavored wine with layers of ripe fruit, silky tannins, and a smooth palate-feel. Although it can be enjoyed now, it has enough stuffing to evolve for several years and drink well through 2017. It is also a great value in Priorat, a rarity these days.
EXTREMELY LIMITED, FIRST COME FIRST SERVED
Wine Advocate: 93
Regular Price: $34.99Sale Price: $27.99
Bottle Size: 750 ml
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A FEW MORE PRIORAT SUPER STARS FOR U:
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Mas Doix Priorat Salanques 2004
The 2004 Salanques is the second wine of Mas Doix made from barrels not making the cut for Costers de Vinas Viejas. It is 65% Garnacha, 20% Carinena, and equal parts Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon aged 14 months in French oak. Inky purple, the wine has a lovely perfume of mineral, truffle, pencil lead, kirsch, black currant, and blueberry. Ripe and full-bodied, the wine has a velvety texture, superb depth, and gobs of flavor. Drink this pleasure-packed wine over the next 8-10 years.
Wine Advocate: 94
Regular Price: $44.99Sale Price: $35.99
Bottle Size: 750 ml
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Mas Doix Priorat Salanques 2005
The 2005 Salanques, a blend of 65% Garnacha, 20% Carinena, and the balance Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, is aged in French oak for 14 months. It has a glass-coating purple-hue with an alluring bouquet of cedar, smoke, slate, blueberry, and black cherry. Youthful and structured on the palate, this potentially complex effort will profit from 5-7 years of additional cellaring. It will be at its best from 2015 to 2030.
Wine Advocate: 93
Regular Price: $46.99Sale Price: $37.59
Bottle Size: 750 ml
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Francesc Sanchez Bas Montsalvat 2001
The 2001 Montsalvat is a gargantuan effort composed of 70% Carinena from 70- to 80-year-old vines and 30% Garnacha of the same age with yields of less than a ton per acre. The wine was aged 16 months in new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The color is a nearly black/purple with a huge nose of marzipan, mineral, vanilla, and wild blue and blackberries. Full-bodied, the wine has an untamed, rustic feel on the palate with layered, opulent blue and black fruits as well as a balsamic note, and a splendid integration of oak, acid, and tannins. Give this wine a few years in bottle for further evolution and then drink it over the next 10-15 years.
Wine Advocate: 95
Regular Price: $69.99Sale Price: $53.99
Bottle Size: 750 ml
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