2006 2/3 Trio Infernal Combier-Fischer-Gerin, Priorat

2006 2/3 Trio Infernal Combier-Fischer-Gerin, Priorat

Product: 20068136819
 
2006 2/3 Trio Infernal Combier-Fischer-Gerin, Priorat

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Description

The 2/3 is 100 percent old-vine Cariñena and it has had extended oak ageing: in its youth, it has all the class and concentration of top notch Priorat; forest floor and kirsch are allied to a robust and winsome structure, with balancing acidity and powerful fruit tannins harmoniously interwoven and lending real gravitas.
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About this WINE

Combier Fischer Gerin Associes

Combier Fischer Gerin Associes

Priorat is located 30 km west of Tarragona in the Spanish province of Catalonia. This wine-growing area lived its golden age in the 19th century, but was slowly abandonned until some twenty years ago, when a group of idealistic vintners (René Barbier, Alvaro Palacio, Louis Perez....) rediscovered its potential.

Carignan, Grenache are the traditional varieties, but more recently also Syrah and some Cabernet have been planted. The vineyards are cultivated on steep slopes between 300 and 600m altitude on slate (Llicorelles). Together with its continental climate (cold nights, hot days) the wines resulting are of unusual power, yet balanced and elegant. Today, the quality of the Priorat wines is renowned all over the world.

Trio Infernal is born by the association of three vintner friends, Laurent Combier ( Crozes Hemitage), Peter Fischer (Provence) and the rising star from Rhone, Jean Michel Gerin (Côte Rotie), who put their know-how and passion together to create a great wine.

Combier Fischer Gerin Associés wines showcase the delights of Priorat's signature grape Garnacha, alongside Carignan and sum up the virtues of contemporary Spanish winemaking; They are Old World in the soul, tradition-bound wines, yet at the same time they are innovative and provocative. They combine the flamboyant, fruit-forward excitement of modern winemaking with the complexity and power of old vines.
Cuvee 2/3 is a rare and unique -for Priorat's standards, 100% old vine Garignan, while Cuvee 1/3 marries the latter with 60% Garnacha.

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Priorat

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)

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Carignan

Carignan

Carignan, as its name suggests, is presumably of Spanish in origin, from around the town of Carineña west of Priorat in the province of Aragon.

Carignan, also known as Carginano in Italy and Cariñena or Mazeulo in Spain, is one of the most widely-planted red grapes in France. Planting became widespread in France during the 1960s, when Algeria gained its independence and was no longer an inexpensive source of red grapes. Languedoc-Rousillon (Cotes du Roussillon, Corbières, Saint Chinian) is the bastion of Carignan in France, and it is also grown Provence, although it now gradually being replaced with more complex and characterful varieties such as Syrah and Grenache.

The berries are blue-black, with fairly thick, astringent skins.Carignan buds and ripens quite late, so it is resistant to spring frosts, but requires a long ripening season and warm climate. It is a vigorous grape, which can result a wine of dull character.

Carignan is useful for adding intense colour, acidity, and fleshy tannins to the archetypal Southern French blends of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault. Few select growers have managed to produce interesting, distinctive wines from this grape by carefully limiting the vine vigour and the yields.

Old Carignan vines (over 50 years) on a combination of low yields and suitable terroir can produce magnificently concentrated and characterful wine. The best expressions can be found in Priorat.

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