Guide to Priorat: Learn About the Spanish Priorat Wine Region

Priorat is a small wine region in Catalonia known for its intensely-flavored red wines. An area with a long history, Priorat’s difficult mountainside location kept the region fairly obscure until just a few decades ago; now, it produces some of the most acclaimed wines in Spain.

There are 12 smaller villages and growing zones that make up the region: Bellmunt del Priorat, Gratallops, el Lloar, la Morera de Montsant, Porrera, Poboleda, Scala Dei, Torroja del Priorat, la Vilella Alta, la Vilella Baixa, Masos de Falset, and Solanes del Molar.

The Priorat wine region is located in the Catalonia region of Spain, just inland from the Mediterranean port city of Tarragona and about a two-hour drive southwest of Barcelona. The Montsant mountain chain dominates the region, with vineyards situated between 330 feet above sea level in the valleys of Bellmunt del Priorat and el Molar up to 2,500 feet above sea level on the slopes of La Morera de Montsant and Porrera.

Many vineyards are located on costers (Catalan for "steep slope") with a typical gradient of 15 percent (and up to 60 percent), so terracing is common, and vineyards are often too steep and narrow for machine-harvesting. The slate soil on the slopes is known as llicorella ("licorice," due to its dark color) and is the main feature of the soil's terroir and the success of its native grapes.

The Priorat wine region has a long history, and it first began producing wine over 900 years ago.

• 1100s: Priorat's winemaking history begins in the twelfth century, when Carthusian monks from Provence established their priory, Cartoixa d'Escaladei (Carthusian Monastery of Scala Dei), in the center of the region. Winemaking expanded as the monks increased their holdings and villagers started to make their own wine.
• 1800s: Winemaking was put on hold with the arrival of phylloxera, a destructive pest, in the mid-nineteenth century. The inaccessible region did not see large-scale replanting efforts for over fifty years.
• 1950s: Beginning in the ’50s and for the next few decades, cooperatives produced rustic, blended wines without much national or international recognition.
• 1980s: French-Spanish winemaker René Barbier saw the region's potential and introduced the French concept of clos ("enclosure"), small, typically walled-in vineyard spots meant for producing high-quality wines. These wines are labeled with the names of the individual mini-vineyards, such as Clos Erasmus, Clos Mogador, Clos de l'Obac, and Clos Martinet.
• 1990s: More independent bodegas (wineries) started to break through the cooperative-dominated scene: Costers del Siurana and Alvaro Palacios were some of the first, and they are still known for their high-quality wines.
• 2000s: In the year 2000, Priorat became the second region in Spain to receive the designation DOCa (Denominación de Origen Calificada), the highest denomination in the country. (The first to receive this honor was Rioja, in 1991.) As of 2018 the region was home to a total of 109 wineries and 535 winemakers.

Priorat wines are defined by the native grapes that thrive in the region's infertile soil, which imparts a characteristic minerality. Many of these vines are old and produce low yields, which contributes to the wine's intensity. Most Priorat wines are dry red blends, high in both alcohol and tannins, with a thick texture. These wines are typically aged in new French oak barrels, rather than the used American barrels preferred for Rioja and Ribera del Duero. Common wine tasting notes include flavors of blackberry, chocolate, and licorice.

Although blends dominate, some wines are varietal, such as the 100 percent Garnacha L'Ermita, one of Spain's most expensive wines. The same winery that produces L'Ermita, Alvaro Palacios, also makes a well known blend, Finca Dofi, with Garnacha, Cariñena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot. These wines certainly taste different, but they both have the characteristic Priorat flavor found throughout the region.

Red grape varieties are by far the most popular in Priorat, accounting for 93 percent of plantings. Most of these red grapes are Spanish varieties that find their best expression in Priorat's llicorella soil.

1. 1. Garnacha (Grenache): At 41 percent of production, Garnacha is the region's most popular and important grape. Rich and juicy, Garnacha adds body and density to red blends and holds its own as a varietal wine.
2. 2. Cariñena (Carignan): Another Spanish native, Cariñena is the region's second most popular variety, at 23 percent of production. It adds depth, intensity, and fruit flavors to red blends.
3. 3. Cabernet Sauvignon: This French variety, the most popular red grape in the world, is permitted in Priorat blends, where it can add structure. At 10 percent of production, it’s tied with Syrah for the most popular foreign grape in the region.
4. 4. Syrah: Another French import and permitted Priorat blending wine, Syrah makes for a full-bodied wine and adds earthiness to blends.
5. 5. Merlot: Traditionally a blending grape in Bordeaux, Merlot is also permitted in Priorat red blends, where it adds a certain roundness. Merlot accounts for 6 percent of production.
6. 6. Garnacha Blanca (Grenache Blanc): White wines aren’t common in Priorat, but they do exist, and most come from this light-skinned version of Garnacha, capable of producing full-bodied, ageable white wines. Garnacha Blanca accounts for just five percent of the region’s harvest but is its most popular white grape.
7. 7. Macabeo: Macebo is the second most planted white wine grape in northern Spain (after Airén). Its mild flavor makes it a useful blending grape for cavas and rosés, and it also blends well with Garnacha Blanca. At one percent of production in Priorat, it’s the region’s second biggest white wine grape.
8. 8. Pedro Ximénez: While most of Priorat's wines are dry reds, a small amount are sweet, fortified wines. Accounting for less than half a percent of yields, Pedro Ximénez is naturally sweet and high in alcohol, closely associated with sherry production and the sweet wines of Montilla-Moriles.

Introduced in 2019, Los Nombres de la Tierra (“the names of the land”) is Priorat’s unique classification system. It has five tiers:

1. 1. DOQ Priorat wine: This is the generic labeling for wines that meet the region’s basic requirements for location, vine age, and grape variety.
2. 2. Vins de Vila: These wines come from one of 12 specified villages in the region.
3. 3. Paratge wines: Wines under this label are recognized for their expression of terroir.
4. 4. Vinya Classificada: These wines come from individual vineyards where 80 percent of the vines are at least 20 years old, and they must be bottled separately.
5. 5. Gran Vinya Classificada: The highest level of recognition, this label designates wines from distinguished vineyards where 80 percent of the vines are at least 35 years old.

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