96 PARKER POINTS

Producer:  Arrels del Priorat

Region:  Priorat - Catalonia

Bottle:  50 cl                                                   

Alcohol Content:  18 %

Arrels del Priorat is a blend of different types of  rancio wines made from over-ripe 100% Grenache grapes and aged using the traditional solera system for over 30 years in chestnut barrels. The result is a wine quite complex with intense flavours of honey, nuts and a floral touch, sweet on the nose but with a quite dry palate, good acidity and freshness despite its 21º. They are a good accompaniment to the local hazelnuts and almonds and can be enjoyed as an after-meal drink. Its production is very limited, only bottling 1000 bottles of 50 cl. a year.

In the region of Catalonia has been made vino rancio (Vi Ranci) since centuries and it has a distinguished history of its own. For many families it was a tradition to keep small barrels of Rancios in their houses for their own consumption.  A distinctive style of wine typically made from Grenache grapes, achieve by deliberately oxidizing the wine and being exposed to extraordinary aging periods stored in small old oak barrels.  Today these wines are more rare and this tradition is dying slowly out with the older generation, that was the reason that back 20 years ago Rene Barbier (Clos Mogador) and Jaume Balaguer (Celler Balaguer I Cabré) started the project of Celler Arrels del Priorat, with the intention of reviving this old tradition and bringing this true treasures, the great rancio wine from the Priorat to the new generations and make them known again. Today their hard work has been rewarded with 96 points by the prestigious Wine Advocate, Robert Parker’s magazine.

Note:  As all fortified wines, sediments can be produced within a period of time after its bottling. It is recommended to store the bottle upright. Ideal with pastries, cakes, dried fruits, nuts and raisins, and on its own after a meal.