Tros del Clos "Mas del Metge" 2017

A Carignan of great stature: strong and powerful in expression, warm and composed in tone. Steadfast, earthy, carrying the local colour of its origin.

The Clos del Portal estate lies in the south of Priorat near the villages of El Lloar and Bellmunt, stretching from the Siurana valley towards the Montsant mountains. Of its forty hectares, only fourteen carry vines, the rest being olives, almonds and Mediterranean woodland. The black Llicorella slate is so barren and steep that phylloxera spared the ungrafted old vines Alfredo Arribas found on the abandoned terraces from 2001 onwards.

Single-varietal Carignan (Cariñena). Arribas farms organically and biodynamically, limiting yield to around one kilogram of grapes per vine. Winemaker Juan Asens ferments spontaneously with wild yeasts, macerates briefly, uses minimal sulphur and forgoes new barriques. This lets the slate shape the wine more than the wood.

The opening is rich and powerful, the tannin plush and grainy, the acidity moderate. On the nose, stewed plums, braised elderberries and blueberries, alongside umeboshi apricot, heart cherry, pipe tobacco, cinnamon stick, tarragon, black pepper and dark chocolate. Dry, 14.0% Vol.

Braised veal rolls with purple mustard sauce, carrots and roast potatoes; crispy pork knuckle with dark-beer shallots, savoy cabbage and almond dumplings; for a vegetarian option, oven-baked potatoes with mojo rosso, kalamata olives and Padrón peppers.

Trained as an architect, Alfredo Arribas designed bars and hotels in Barcelona before buying land in Priorat and bottling his first wines in 2004. As a child, he spent his summers with his grandfather, a winegrower in the Ribera del Duero.