2020 (Clos Mogador)

Cellar for up to 20 years. Decant for an hour or more before serving. This is a powerful red blend, featuring 45% Grenache, with smaller amounts of Carignan, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a deep purple in the glass, exhibiting a strong nose of rich red fruit, spice, cigar smoke, freshly baked bread, and dried herbs.

Founded in 1979, Clos Mogador was present throughout the Priorat revival in the 1980s. Its incumbent winemaker, René Barbier, is the latest vintner in an esteemed family of vintners, who played an important role in Priorat’s revival.

Clos Mogador is a 20-hectare vineyard, sitting at 350 metres above sea level, and is particularly notable for its rich, slate soils. Clos Mogador is packed with well-balanced oak, round, chewy tannins, and elevated acidity.

This is a wine with a lot of character – intense, yet smooth and velvety. You can detect notes of sour black cherry, blood orange, plum, and garrigue, with an undercurrent of baking spice. The wine was aged for 18 months before bottling, in French oak.

It has a long finish, with rich, bloody hints of iron and minerality. Clos Mogador will be an excellent partner for Catalan fuet, roast chicken, or a variety of meaty tapas.