The best wines of the Priorat

The wines of the Priorat Designation of Origin have become some of the best known and appreciated, both in Spain and internationally. In fact, this region has achieved the qualification of “qualified”, the highest category to which a designation of origin can aspire and the second one granted in Spain after that of Rioja, thanks to the quality of its wines. Here we explain you which are the most outstanding ones.

Basic guide to the DO Priorat

The Priorat Designation of Origin is located in the center of the province of Tarragona (Spain), south of Barcelona and has an area of 17,629 hectares, of which 1,887 are planted with vines and cultivated by more than 600 growers.

Wine production in this region dates back to the creation of the Priorat de la Cartoixa d’Escaladei in 1163. The Carthusian monks who had learned the techniques of the vineyard in Provence, France, cared for the land for almost 700 years until it was redistributed by the State in 1835.

At the end of the 19th century, phylloxera struck the region and devastated the vineyards, causing the collapse and depopulation of the region. Although the government had made Priorat an official D.O. in 1954, it was not until 1989 that wine production began to flourish again.

Priorat wine varieties

The predominant grapes for the elaboration of red wines in this D.O. are Cariñena and Garnacha, from which robust, tannic, dense wines are obtained, rich in structure and aromas and with a deep mineral flavor (graphite).

Some white varieties such as Garnacha Blanca and Macabeo are also cultivated. The white wines are somewhat warm, glyceric and with a Mediterranean character. Along with these wines, other traditional wines have survived, such as the rancid wines loaded with personality and rich in almond shades.

The most outstanding wines of the Priorat

There are more than a hundred wineries in the Priorat, producing wines of all types and for all tastes. If we follow the Parker Points, a seal of quality of wines, some of the most outstanding bottles are those produced by the wineries Álvaro Palacios, Terroir al Límit, Familia Nin Ortiz, Mas Martinet Viticultors, Mas Doix and Ferrer Bobet.

 

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