96 PARKER POINTS

Producer: Arrels del Priorat

Region: Priorat - Catalonia

Bottle: 50 cl                                                   

Alcohol Content: 18% vol.

Vino rancio (Vi Ranci) has been made in the Catalan region for centuries, and it has a distinguished history of its own. It was a tradition for many families to keep small barrels of Rancios in their houses for their own consumption. 

It is a distinctive style of wine, which is usually made from Grenache grapes, achieved by deliberately oxidising the wine and being exposed to extraordinary ageing periods stored in small old oak barrels.

Today, these wines are rarer, as the tradition is slowly dying out with the older generation. That was the reason that back 20 years ago, René Barbier (Clos Mogador) and Jaume Balaguer (Celler Balaguer I Cabré) started the project of Celler Arrels del Priorat. Their intention was to revive this old tradition and bring these true treasures, the great rancio wines 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.

Production:

Arrels del Priorat is a blend of different types of rancio wines made from overripe 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 and 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.

Note: 

As with all fortified wines, sediments can be produced within a period of time after their 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.