As a young sommelier, I used to get in arguments with my wine friends by defending my love of Priorat. They would roll their eyes at me, as they piled all Priorat wines into one bucket of high alcohol, jam spread, fruit bombs. Ok, fair, there was a movement towards this style in the late 1990s into early 2000s. But a lot has changed in the last twenty years, and let’s not forget that Garnacha and Cariñena are warm weather grapes. If you’re drinking a low-alcohol Grenache blend, it’s probably lacking intensity, those magnetic umami berry flavors that draw you into the glass. 
 
Carlos Ortiz moved to Priorat from Barcelona in search of a quieter life. He purchased the Finca Les Plantes estate in 1998 and sold his grapes to Clos i Terrasses where he met Ester, the notable viticulturist. A busy bee herself, Ester owned Mas d’en Caçador and produced wine under her side project label, “Nit de Nin.” Two visionaries collided, fell in love, and unknowingly began to alter the perception of Priorat wines.  

Partida Les Planetes (now renamed, "Clàssic") is a blend of Garnacha Tinta, Garnacha Peluda, and Cariñena. The vineyard, close to the village of Porrera, boasts a range of soils from hard to soft schists to black clays and benefits from a cooler northeast exposure. Dedicated to the principles of biodynamics, Carlos and Ester use only organic materials in their vineyards, including natural sprays and homemade compost. In the cellar, natural yeasts and neutral vessels take forefront, while a portion of stems are retained in the fermentation process for freshness and high-toned aromatics. With a few years of age under the cork, the 2018 vintage shows how well Priorat can age. The nose captivates the senses with black stones, smoky violets, kirsch, wild blues, and red earth spice. At 14.5% alcohol, it’s generous with texture but a freshness lingers on the finish, convincing you to take another glass. A bit mysterious, and confusing (in a good way), this is clearly a wine from a warm climate, but there’s so much more than fruit in the glass. It piles on the rugged soul of Priorat, and that’s the beauty of Nin-Ortiz. ~Allegra A