Terroir Al Limit Les Manyes 2019
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Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
A rich and complex web of smoke and stone, fragrant black cherry brilliance and savory mountain herbs; a delicate bitterness settles like a cool morning fog over the whole, lending structure, shape and an elegant expression, both now and for a long, lovely future to come.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A pale ruby-colored pure Garnacha from clay and limestone soils (a rarity in Priorat), the 2019 Les Manyes is very primary and fruit-driven, with an explosive nose of berries, wild herbs and flowers and it has a medium-bodied palate, juicy and with very fine chalky tannins. It's a very pretty Garnacha that is open and expressive. It has good ripeness and plenty of aromas, denoting proper ripeness of the grapes that had the time to develop aromas and flavors. This is ethereal but full of energy and light. It opens up and evolves very nicely in the glass.
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James Suckling
A great ethereal nose, with savory herbs (rosemary and oregano), citrus such as grapefruit and blood orange, and wild spices with a hint of cement and bitter almond. The palate is effortlessly dry with sleek, grainy tannins that merge into the wild berries and dried herbs, leaving a pleasantly dry and bitter finish. Long, refined and savory, with a focus on wild Mediterranean herbs. Burgundy-like garnacha peluda.
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Spirits
Wine &
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Parker
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Suckling
James
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Spectator
Wine
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
Tiny and entirely composed of craggy, jagged and deeply terraced vineyards, Priorat is a Catalan wine-producing region that was virtually abandoned until the early 1990s. This Spanish wine's renaissance came with the arrival of one man, René Barbier, who recognized the region’s forgotten potential. He banded with five friends to create five “Clos” in the village of Gratallops. Their aim was to revive some of Priorat’s ancient Carignan vines, as well as plant new—mainly French—varieties. These winemakers were technically skilled, well-trained and locally inspired; not surprisingly their results were a far cry from the few rustic and overly fermented wines already produced.
This movement escalated Priorat’s popularity for a few reasons. Its new wines were modern and made with well-recognized varieties, namely old Carignan and Grenache blended with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. When the demand arrived, scarcity commanded higher prices and as the region discovered its new acclaim, investors came running from near and far. Within ten years, the area under vine practically doubled.
Priorat’s steep slopes of licorella (brown and black slate) and quartzite soils, protection from the cold winds of the Siera de Monstant and a lack of water, leading to incredibly low vine yields, all work together to make the region’s wines unique. While similar blends could and are produced elsewhere, the mineral essence and unprecedented concentration of a Priorat wine is unmistakable.