2013 Ferrer Bobet Vinyes Velles Priorat 750 ml

A 95-Point Ode to Priorat

With a richly deserved 95-point score from Wine & Spirits magazine, the 2013 Ferrer Bobet Vinyes Velles Priorat has shown that it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the most legendary wineries in Catalonia - institutions like Scala Dei and Mas Doix - and has earned a reputation as one of the great wineries of Spain. Drawn from 100-year-old Grenache and Carignan vines planted in the precariously steep slate soils of Priorat, the Vinyes Velles is a model of impeccable winemaking. The result is a wine boasting the kind of concentration that only century-old vines can produce, balanced by vibrancy and rich minerality. The bold and powerful flavors of brooding black fruits, thyme, anise, tobacco, and mocha were rewarded with a Cellar Selection recommendation from Wine Enthusiast magazine which also lauded it as being “at the forefront of the movement to more elegant wines” in the region. Ferrer Bobet has proven that right now, there might be no producer in Priorat standing taller.

Rich, robust, concentrated wines have long been the standard in Priorat, where the weather is hot and ancient vines achieve supreme concentration in the famous slate-based soils, known as Llicorella. Here roots reach far into the subsoil in search of water and nutrients, and produce the distinct mineral character and complexity for which the region has become known. Along with the famous minerality, deep, glass-staining richness is the rule in this sun-baked region of northern Spain.

The Ferrer Bobet Vinyes Velles is grown in a particular section of Priorat known as Porrera, which is influenced by chilly winds from the northeast and therefore one of the coolest in the entire region. While the sun ripens grapes from above and below during the day—particles of mica in the topsoil reflect the sun’s rays back to the grapes—cool nights maintain vibrant acidity and balance. This is why Wine Enthusiast, in an article headlined “The Wines of Catalonia Have Never Been Better,” lists Ferrer Bobet not just as an exemplary producer, but one ushering in a new era of refinement in Priorat. Endowed with Priorat’s trademark rich fruit but boasting freshness and a sturdy backbone, Wine Enthusiast named the Vinyes Velles a Cellar Selection, and Wine & Spirits declares that, in a decade, it will be “a grand red of Priorat."