Spain — wine

Priorat

Catalonia's most prestigious wine appellation on ancient llicorella (slate and quartz) soils in the mountains southwest of Tarragona. Old-vine Garnacha and Cariñena produce wines of extraordinary concentration, dark fruit intensity, and mineral depth. Priorat's dramatic rocky terraces — where donkeys are still used because tractors cannot navigate — produce Spain's most expensive and internationally acclaimed wines alongside Ribera del Duero.

Year Rating Notes
2022 Outstanding Priorat vintage; old-vine Garnacha from llicorella expressed extraordinary mineral depth and dark fruit intensity.
2021 Elegant vintage; lower yields from the slate soils produced wines of greater finesse than the region's typical power.
2020 Benchmark year; L'Ermita and Clos Mogador produced internationally acclaimed wines of extraordinary concentration.
2019 Greatest Priorat vintage of the modern era; wines of legendary structure and llicorella mineral intensity.
2018 Excellent vintage; old-vine Cariñena showed its finest expression from the terraced slate vineyards.