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Tasting Notes
Full bodied with ample structure, this wine requires some air for its flavor and aromas to unfold, yielding blackberry jam and red berries along with fresh herbs and violets, under the smokey mineral and licorice overtones.
Body is the impression of a wines weight, density, or its ‘mouth-feel’. Some wines feel weighty, or full bodied, while others feel light bodied. Wine runs the gamut from light to full, with most falling somewhere in between.
TANNIN
Low
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Tannin can range greatly in wine, but it is necessary to some degree, and a necessary constituent for red wines to age well. In high amounts, it can cause a drying affect, which is sensed mostly on the gums and tongue. Tannin is a natural preservative extracted from grape skins, otherwise known as polyphenols that are micronutrients and antioxidants with potential health benefits.
ACIDITY
Soft
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Acidity is a foundational component in wine. In fact, low acidity, or ‘flabby’ wine (as the term suggests) is a negative. You can sense acidity mainly on the sides of your tongue. Acidity generally ranges from balanced to high. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making your mouth water. Acidity is a necessary element and helps to balance other components.
SWEETNESS
Dry
Off Dry
Medium Dry
Medium Sweet
Very Sweet
Most wines are characterized as dry to off-dry, but there are some grape varietals, like Riesling, that run the gamut from dry to sweet. The tip of the tongue mainly detects sweetness, which is why it is often the primary characteristic detected. Sweetness is derived from residual sugar that did not ferment into alcohol.
ALCOHOL
14.5%
Alcohol is the by-product of fermentation. Differing grape varieties have differing potential alcohol levels, but regardless warmer areas result in riper grapes resulting in higher alcohol. Alcohol level is an objective number, but its affect on its palate impression is largely determined with how well integrated and balanced it is with other components.
Entry-level view of the power and complexity of Alvaro Palacios's Priorat wines.
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Garnacha
40%Gar-NATCH-a
Grenache is widely planted throughout the world but some of the best expressions come from the southern Rhone, and in Spain’s Priorat. Grenache has small berries with thick grape skins resulting in dark, tannic wine in its youth combined with an almost ripe sweetness and elevated alcohol. Often part of a blend, Grenache offers a lot of fruit, spice, with floral and herbal notes.
Samso
30%SAM-So
Samso, also known as Carignan, is a red grape variety grown primarily in Spain and France. It produces wines with deep color, high tannins, and flavors of dark berries, spices, and earthy notes. Samso is often used in blends to add structure and intensity.
Cabernet Sauvignon
20%Ca-ber-NAY So-vee-NYON
Cabernet Sauvignon origins are from the Gironde in southwest France, but is now planted across the world in climates that accommodate this late ripening grape. It is the dominant grape in wines made in Bordeaux’s Médoc and Graves regions. This small, thick-skinned grape, produces darkly colored wine, high in tannin and relatively high in acidity with hallmark aromas of blackcurrant and can stylistically change from austere in its youth to lush depending on the region, and winemaking style.
Syrah
10%See-RA
Syrah is widely planted throughout the world, but that was not so until the late twentieth century when Syrah was principally grown in the Rhone Valley and, as Shiraz, in Australia. Stylistically, the Palate Character of Syrah can vary depending on ripeness from a rich Round & Fleshy, Tone & Backbone, to a Powerful & Extracted. The flavors and aromas can also vary with a dark, sometimes sweet, fruit character, varying amount of spice, floral, and earth, and smoke, and meaty aromas and flavors.
Inspired by his work at Château Petrus, in the early 1990s Alvaro Palacios’s aspirations as a winemaker led him to the historically heralded but nearly abandoned vineyards of Priorat instead of returning to his family winery in Rioja.
Priorat’s steep high-altitude vineyards, originally cultivated by the Romans, are dominated by garnacha, which must strive in these unique black-slate soils. Alvaro has purchased several of the region’s best vineyards, including the iconic L’Ermita and its 100-year-old vines.
Working organically and biodynamically in his top vineyards, Alvaro’s range of Priorat wines span the spectrum from accessible to collectible, but all speak to his mission to establish a benchmark of quality in the region.
Blackberry
Licorice
Smoke
Biodynamic
