2017 Les Manyes, Terroir al Límit, Priorat, Spain
Critics reviews
I tasted two vintages of the top Garnacha (Peluda), so next to the 2017 Les Manyes, I also had the 2018; it was great to see the differences in the wines, even if the analytical data showed pretty similar. This amazing vineyard at 800 meters in altitude on red clay and gypsum soils has more in common with some vineyards from Montsant than the majority of other vineyards from Priorat. In 2016, they started aging the wine 100% in concrete, and they have no intention of going back.
This is quite austere and compact and has had a slow oxidation in concrete, and the wine feels quite stabilized and fresher than other 2017s but again perhaps not as deep as the 2018. It's not a showy vintage; it's quite subtle. It takes a long time to open up in the glass, and it's clearly the freshest of the 2017s. 3,200 bottles were filled in June 2020 after a longer élevage, exclusively in concrete for this second bottling lot.
Drink 2020 - 2028
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (December 2020)
About this WINE
Terroir Al Limit
Established in 2001 by Eben Sadie and Dominik Huber, the wines have always been exceptional, but Dominik now produces some of the best wines made in the region.
The stars of the show are the single-vineyard Cariñena, Les Tosses and the Garnacha, Les Manyes. Not forgetting their superb white, Pedra de Guix, a blend of one-third each Pedro Ximénez, Garnacha Blanca and Macabeo, reminiscent of great Chenin Blanc.
Les Tosses was the first of these wines in the range, first made in 2003. It comes from a vineyard at 600m. above sea level, the highest in Torroja del Priorat. The vines here are 80-year-old on steep black slate slopes, with blazing southwestern exposition. There is a rugged, raw power to this wine. Opulent black fruits and rich aromas of smoke and spice swirl in the nearly black depths of the glass. Despite the initial hint of brawn, a serious, thoughtful character emerges with a bright, taut acidity.
Situated at the top of a monastery in the village of Scala Dei, 800 meters up the high slopes of the Montsant mountains, the west-facing Grand Cru vineyard of Les Manyes is a universe unto itself. The Garnacha Peluda (‘Hairy grenache’) vines that grow there are a rare variant of the region’s more popular Garnacha Tinta. They are equipped with a fine, downy fuzz on the underside of their leaves that conserves moisture in the blazing heat - allowing them to thrive even in this hot and challenging climate. Lower sugar levels also mean lower alcohol levels, lending an unmistakable brightness and elegance. The distinctive chalk-rich clay soils mark the Garnacha fruit with a minerality, structure and elegance. The grapes are hand harvested, whole cluster fermented, and then aged for 16 months in cement.
Pedra de Guix is a blend of old vines of the region’s most important white varieties: Pedro Ximénez, Macabeo and Grenache Blanc. Steep slopes and concentrated fruit, together with a traditional approach in the cellar. Following a hand harvest, the whole bunches undergo a gentle basket pressing, vinification in cement tanks, and then two years of ageing in French oak tonneaus (500l) and foudres (1200l). The PX is left alone to undergo a controlled oxidation before blending. The hands-off biodynamic approach reflects the alluring taste of time and patience, a gentle velvet beauty that moves with waves of citrus, nuts and flowers across the palate. Rich, soft and ripe. The longer it is opened, the fresher it becomes in the glass, developing tension, depth, and a mouth-watering salinity expressing the soils of the region: clay, alluvial and slate.
Priorat
Priorato, or Priorat, is one of the stand-out Spanish wine regions, with an extraordinary leap in wine quality, reputation and price over the 1990s. This small wine appellation, with 1,700 hectares of vines and just over 60 bodegas, lies to the west of the province of Tarragona in Catalonia.
It includes the municipalities of Scala Dei, Gratallops and Falset, where vines grow on steep terraces at varying altitudes of 100 to 700 metres. The climate is continental, and the region blessed with an exceptional schistous terroir (mostly llicorella with layers of slate and quartz). This schist is part of the same stratum found in the finest vineyards of the Douro, Toro and Ribera del Duero. It provides ideal conditions for growing vines and also contributes to the much-lauded mineral-rich character of Priorato’s wines.
The region’s wines were revolutionised through the efforts of René Barbier. In 1989 he joined forces with a group of eight other winemakers to produce wine from eight plots (or clos), planting the best grapes using modern methods, and harvesting at extremely low yields. This original group included such distinguished bodegas as Alvaro Palacios (Finca Dofi), Costers del Siurana and Mas Martinet.
The group later split up, but the legacy and the international acclaim their wines generated has attracted significant interest and investment in the Priorato region. It is now recognised as one of the great fine wine regions in Spain, rivalling Rioja and Ribera del Duero. The Priorat wines are typically powerful and full-bodied, with a warm, ripe fruitiness and impressive levels of concentration and minerality. The wines are made in all categories from Joven to Gran Reserva, undergoing the same oak ageing as Rioja.
The efforts of the Barbier group proved that old-vine, low-yielding Cariñena and Garnacha is the most planted variety here, followed by Garnacha. Both provide the backbone of the region’s wines, augmented by international varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
White varieties (i.e. Chenin Blanc, Macabeo, Garnacha Blanca, Viognier and Pedro Ximénez) occupy less than five percent of the vineyard area.
Recommended Producers:
Combier Fischer Gerin (Trio Infernal), Clos Figueres, Alvaro Palacios (Finca Dofi)
Grenache/Garnacha
Grenache (Noir) is widely grown and comes in a variety of styles. Believed to originate in Spain, it was, in the late 20th century, the most widely planted black grape variety in the world. Today it hovers around seventh in the pecking order. It tends to produce very fruity, rich wines that can range quite widely in their level of tannin.
In many regions – most famously the Southern Rhône, where it complements Syrah and Mourvèdre, among other grapes – it adds backbone and colour to blends, but some of the most notable Châteauneuf du Pape producers (such as Château Rayas) make 100 percent Grenache wines. The grape is a component in many wines of the Languedoc (where you’ll also find its lighter-coloured forms, Grenache Gris and Blanc) and is responsible for much southern French rosé – taking the lead in most Provence styles.
Found all over Spain as Garnacha Tinta (spelt Garnaxa in Catalonia), the grape variety is increasingly detailed on wine labels there. Along with Tempranillo, it forms the majority of the blend for Rioja’s reds and has been adopted widely in Navarra, where it produces lighter styles of red and rosado (rosé). It can also be found operating under a pseudonym, Cannonau, in Sardinia.
Beyond Europe, Grenache is widely planted in California and Australia, largely thanks to its ability to operate in high temperatures and without much water. Particularly in the Barossa Valley, there are some extraordinary dry-farmed bush vines, some of which are centuries old and produce wines of startling intensity.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
I tasted two vintages of the top Garnacha (Peluda), so next to the 2017 Les Manyes, I also had the 2018; it was great to see the differences in the wines, even if the analytical data showed pretty similar. This amazing vineyard at 800 meters in altitude on red clay and gypsum soils has more in common with some vineyards from Montsant than the majority of other vineyards from Priorat. In 2016, they started ageing the wine 100% in concrete, and they have no intention of going back.
This is quite austere and compact and has had a slow oxidation in concrete, and the wine feels quite stabilized and fresher than other 2017s but again perhaps not as deep as the 2018. It's not a showy vintage; it's quite subtle. It takes a long time to open up in the glass, and it's clearly the freshest of the 2017s. 3,200 bottles were filled in June 2020 after a longer élevage, exclusively in concrete for this second bottling lot.
Drink 2020 - 2028
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (December 2020)
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