Les Manyes 2022

Concentrated and transparent at once: dark fruit, smoky minerality and herbal spice sit within a firm, fine-grained tannic frame. A subtle bitterness lends depth without weighing the wine down. Not a loud Priorat, but one of great precision.

The vines grow at 800 metres above the monastery in Scala Dei, on west-facing, chalky clay soil. This altitude is the source of the freshness and structure that carry the wine.

The grape harvested is the rare Garnacha Peluda, whose fine down on the underside of the leaves retains moisture, an adaptation to the dry climate. The vines are 60 years old. Hand-harvested, fermented with whole clusters, aged in concrete. Since 2009, Terroir al Limit has worked with whole-cluster infusion and no longer punches down the cap; the 15 hectares are farmed organically and biodynamically.

On the nose, black cherries, dark berry fruit, plum and damson compote, alongside clove, black pepper, toffee and a touch of smoke. On the palate, deep and filigree, the fresh fruit tightly bound with the tannin, austere contours, a fruity-tannic finish. Dry, 13.5% ABV. This young vintage benefits from a large glass and decanting.

Les Manyes sits at the top of the Burgundian-style tiered single-vineyard wines from Dominik Huber and Tatjana Peceric in Torroja del Priorat. The 2016 vintage received 100 points from the Wine Advocate.