Terroir Sense Fronteres Vertebra 2019
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Whole cluster fermentation with wild yeast in cement. No pigeage or remontage. The wine undergoes a short maceration (approximately 10 days) after which they are pressed and allowed to finish fermentation.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A ripe, fruity wine with strawberry and plum character, medium body and round, soft tannins. Lovely texture and richness, but in a delicate way. Luxurious. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The pure Garnacha 2019 Vèrtebra de la Figuera comes from 40- to 80-year-old organically farmed vines in the village of La Figuera at 600 meters in altitude, where the soils are composed of alternate layers of red clay and gypsum. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete, where it matured for six months before bottling. This is quite similar in its aromatic palette to the 2019 Negre, with notes of licorice and Mediterranean herbs and a little more finesse and nuance. This is a little rounder and has a little more ripeness and velvety tannins. This is all about finesse and elegance.
Other Vintages
2021-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
“In the Montsant you can shock.” Coming from Dominik Huber, founder of trailblazing Priorat winery Terroir Al Límit, this means a lot. For nearly two decades, Huber has been exploring the edge of what is possible in the Priorat, making energetic, lower alcohol wines from the hot, twisted slopes of llicorella slate in a DOQ famous for power. He has eschewed the preferred modern formula that adds alcohol, extraction, and oak to naturally concentrated, old-vine Carignan and Grenache, without losing the ability to express Priorat’s profound minerality and soul. This grand vision for restrained wines has always captured the attention of wine lovers and professionals eager to drink fresher, more gastronomic Priorat wines. Nevertheless, Huber still stands virtually alone at the limit that he pioneered. With the launch of Terroir Sense Fronteres, his new project next door in the Montsant, he is poised to break boundaries all over again.
The quest is not for shock value. Rather, it is quite the opposite: a return to wines that express a natural, direct connection to the earth. Huber is an admirer of traditional Mediterranean cuisine and its ability to effortlessly transmit this connection through fresh local ingredients, prepared simply. In Catalunya, Huber’s adopted home, the local style of cooking combines flavors and textures from the mountains and coasts, providing immense satisfaction and pleasure without interference of excessive technique. Why can’t the same be true of Priorat and Montsant wines?
Huber’s winemaking philosophy seeks to restore this natural connection to the earth and the vine: vineyards are farmed organically or biodynamically, grapes are harvested and placed into tanks, vats, or amphora (whole bunch) by hand, trodden gently by foot, and fermented with native yeasts. There are no destemmers or oak barrels in the Terroir Sense Fronteres winery and sulfur additions are low.
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.
