Les Manyes 2021

A red wine built on clarity and drive rather than weight. At 13.5 % vol., Les Manyes 2021 stays translucent, silky and dry, carried by an acidity that gives it real length.

The Grenache grows on the steep, sparse slopes of Priorat, with the winery based in Torroja del Priorat. Slate defines the subsoil and remains noticeable through to the finish. Dominik Huber and Tatjana Peceric farm their 15 hectares organically and biodynamically, harvest early, and counter the hot summers with biodynamic preparations in the vineyard.

Pure Grenache. Since 2009, the winery has fermented whole clusters: the berries remain intact, with no pump-overs or punch-downs. Infusion rather than extraction, without pigeage.

On the nose, violet, raspberry and wet slate. On the palate, the wine stays lithe and sinewy, without heaviness, with redcurrant and cool herbs. The finish is long, taut and marked by fine mineral dust.

Duck breast cooked pink with orange sauce and kohlrabi, roasted monkfish with beetroot, walnut and feta, or veal sweetbread Rumohr.

Les Manyes forms the top tier of the estate's vineyard hierarchy. The 2016 vintage from this site was the first Spanish wine to receive 100 points from the Wine Advocate. Dominik Huber founded the winery in 2004 together with Eben Sadie, who departed in 2012; since then Huber has run it with Tatjana Peceric as head winemaker.