If you’re a member of just-drinks you can get access to my article on Priorat’s new appellation system at just-drinks.com
If not, here’s a full run down on what’s happening in the Catalan region.
The Priorat Consejo Regulador has just approved a new Burgundy-like pyramid for its wines from the 2007 vintage.
At the bottom of the pyramid will be generic Priorat DOCa wines. Sitting above this, will be 12 named villages such as Gratallops, Poboleda, Escala Dei and Falset. These villages will now be able to label their wines as Falset and so on.
René Barbier’s Clos Mogador sits alone at the top of the pyramid. Funnily enough René was the instigator of the proposal 15 years ago and his vineyard has managed to achieve its own domaine status…
Barbier was keen to stress that there were great terroirs in Priorat and they needed to be championed. ‘People are obsessed with brands in Spain but it’s not Vega Sicilia that is important it’s the terroir. There are great terroirs in Priorat and we need to talk about them.’
Gratallops-based producer and supporter of the changes, Alvaro Palacios, criticised transient Spanish brands and claimed the region needed to emphasise the unchanging individual areas of Priorat. ‘Gratallops will never disappear and it makes a brand for everyone,’ he said.
However, I’m not sure this is a great idea for anyone apart from the producers. Isn’t it better to know the good producers with the old vines and low yields than which village it comes from? While wine has been made here for centuries, it has only recently witnessed a renaissance. The phrase running before it can walk springs to mind.
Barbier’s next door neighbour Carlos Pastrana at Clos de L’Obac, doesn’t think much of the idea either. If you wish to make an Gratallops wine, all the fruit must come from that area. ‘This is a marketing question,’ he said. ‘The majority of the wineries buy and sell grapes from all over the region.’
How the authorities will keep a check on which grapes go into which vat is another issue. Barbier told me each grower will have an electronic card that identifies the parcel’s provenance when it arrives at the winery and can be swiped like a bank card. Come on guys, I’m not convinced there won’t be some sneaky cross blending.
What do you think? Too much too soon? Greater confusion for the trade and consumer? Would love to hear your thoughts.
