Amazingly vivid cherries, wild herbs and licorice. Stunning texture on the palate, thanks to the great tannins that make it leap and bound over the palate. The finish is devastatingly fresh and mineral. Just beginning to reveal its depths. Drink or hold.
96 points, James Suckling (December 2018)
Very intense blue fruits with iodine, graphite and violet undertones. Full body, dense and layered. Fine texture yet round tannins. Like two wines in one. Starts structured then turns refined. Extremely drinkable. Drink now or hold.
95 points, James Suckling (November 2018)
The old-vine Cariñena 2015 Arbossar has a distinct note of licorice that grows in the glass. By working the vineyard with compost, they have managed to increase yields around 15%, and they feel the grapes achieve better balance, which is very difficult to see in the very poor llicorella slate soils that have almost no organic matter. It's a north-facing slope planted some 90 years ago, and the grapes are very concentrated, so it's a challenge to achieve a floral and fresh Cariñena like this, with notes of blue fruit and violets, quite different from the majority of Cariñena from Priorat. It matured in Stockinger oak foudres for 16 months, and like the majority of wines here, it shows perfectly integrated oak, with just faint spices nicely intermixed with the fruit. There is no heat at all; it's a cool vineyard, and that freshness is translated into the wine and is especially noticeable in a warm and ripe year like 2015. Superb showing for the Arbossar—it has to be one of the best vintages ever.
95 points, Luis Gutierrez (April 2018)
This expressive red delivers a mix of fruity and savory flavors in a polished, round texture. Shows crisp black cherry and red plum fruit, floral, licorice and mineral accents, and an earthy, gamy bottom note. Light tannins and racy acidity tie the disparate parts together. Feels a bit unstable, yet complex, energetic and graceful. The best of three bottles tasted. Carinyena.
93 points, Thomas Matthews, Wine Spectator (2018)
Priorat
This tiny region on the Catalonian coastal hinterland produces some of Spain’s most prestigious red wines. The region has only 1,800 ha of vines covering steep terraces and plateaus up to 900m featuring both granite based soils and unique shale based ”llicorella” soils. Priorat experiences warm to hot days with cool evenings producing wines of great intensity, colour and ripeness. Over the past 20 years, Priorat’s vineyards planted to Garnacha, Carinena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir, have been slowly revived with great success, producing a new wave of powerful, rich reds, some with generous new oak characters.
