Terroir al Límit Historic Red Priorat 2018

Description

Terroir al Límit Historic Red Priorat 2018 has been on the Wines With Attitude list for a while and it just keeps improving the longer it is in bottle; it’s delicious! Terroir al Límit Historic Red Priorat 2018 is an unoaked red wine, a very smooth red wine full of red cherry, spice and liquorice aromas and flavours. Some Priorat wines, like Rioja, can have too much sweetness from the ripe fruit flavours but in this instance they are very well balanced with fresh acidity. The fruit is also balanced with ripe tannins that show this wine will keep developing in the bottle for some time yet. The winemaking is as non-invasive as possible with manual harvest, gentle grape treading in concrete vats which are then closed to allow natural yeasts to ferment the wine leading to a very smooth and easy-to-drink style of wine. Ageing is also in concrete so there is no oak to distract you from the fruit flavours.

Priorat wines have the same DOCa status as Rioja wines (DOQ being the Catalan equivalent) but are generally less well-known than Rioja; in fact they are the only two Spanish wines at this highest qualification level. Terroir Al Limit was only set up in 2001 but old vines of Grenache and Carignan respond well to organic farming (certified organic) and biodynamic practices producing better quality and more intensely flavoured grapes which are produced using traditional wine-making techniques inspired by Burgundy into superb wine. The trend in Priorat is this lighter, unoaked style of Garnacha where the naturally-high alcohol of the grape is reined in with cautious vineyard management, picking at just the right time. This style is in contrast to the often richer, heavier Grenache Noir wines of the Rhône which tend to be higher in alcohol. Both delicious, but different!

For an even lighter, fresher style, try the 2021 vintage of this wine.