Mas d'en Gil Priorat, Bellmunt | 2017

Wherever I go, I carry the wines of Mas d’en Gil with me. Almost twenty years ago, working as a junior sommelier, I served a bottle of Mas d’en Gil to hospitality legend, Danny Meyer and his friend, American novelist and wine enthusiast, Jay McInerney. Boasting a list of well-priced, underrated classics from Piedmont to Burgundy, they stunned me when they selected a Spanish wine from Priorat. The bottle was Mas d’en Gil’s Coma Vella 2003, and since that evening, the brand's brick red foils and clean typeface labels stuck with me. In 1998, Pere Rovira Carbonell purchased the 19th century Mas d’en Gil estate. Reviving its name, he passed his duties onto his daughters, Marta and Pilar, who have been the vibrant soul of the estate since 2008. Together, they challenged Priorat’s notorious big and beefy image by implementing biodynamic farming, along with less oaky, less extracted winemaking methods in the cellar. Today, their long-term efforts are evident, especially in their single vineyard, Bellmunt, which takes its name after its village, Beautiful Mountain of Priorat. Planted to Grenache and Carignan in the 1990s, Bellmunt is the baby red wine of the Mas d'en Gil estate. In addition to meticulous farming, exceptionally low yields (30HL/HA) and the usage of different barrel types (French, Hungarian, and Slovenian) and sizes (5000L to 225L), place this Priorat in a category that’s impossible to beat. In the glass, the brambly side of Grenache pops with dusty raspberries and cherry ham, then seductive Carignan sprinkles in its exotic sweetness and spice. Naturally high in alcohol (14.5%), a cushion of acidity coupled with mellow tannins make a pleasantly soft finish. So, think like a pro, and drink unexpectedly. ~Allegra A