History Lesson: Priorat Pioneers

One of the great values of having a guided wine tour of this region was learning about the history.  All the wines were pretty amazing, but the story of this region, it's tragedy and tenacity add as much to the wine's "bouquet" as the terroir and grapes themselves.  Read a good in-depth article on the region here. I have summarized some historical info from the article below.

Wine production began in this region in the Middle Ages through monastic orders who were settled in this wild, secluded mountainous region to form new abbeys.  Feudal rights were given to seven villages in this region which formed Priorato. They were adept at viticulture and self-sustaining farming in this difficult terrain.  It is known as the world's most vertical wine region as there are precious few flat lands on which to plant vines.  The Priorat became known for high alcohol, robust red wines.

The 19th century saw the fast decline of Priorat: many workers moved to the silver mines nearby, and then the scourges of oidium and phylloxera destroyed the vineyards, which had reached some 6,000 hectares at the end of the 18th century. The population dwindled and its wine influence became a distant memory, the villages now shells of their former selves.

The Priorat Pioneer folklore of the redevelopment of the region varies a bit, but it is widely held the in late 1970s, when René Barbier (Clos Mogador) and Carles Pastrana, two young local growers, started replanting vines around Gratallops they were joined over the next decade by a bunch of youngsters from many places who heard of the project, plus a veteran oenology professor, José Luis Pérez, who would mastermind some of the collective decisions, such as the importation of French varieties. The region's vineyard area then was just 800 hectares.  There are now almost 200 wineries and 2,800 hectares under vines in Priorat.  These Pioneers, and now their families are again bringing these wines to the world.  

On day two, we began our tour at the legendary Clos Mogador.  Rene Barbier was not at the winery the day of our tour but Katja (our guide) shared the pioneering legacy, the evolving philosophy and of course their award winning wines.

Ancient juice press in which baskets are layered

Grape baskets used for pressing juice lightly from the grapes

We also toured another more current pioneer at Mas Doix, a mother and daughter team who make berry by berry selection of the grapes at harvest to produce award winning local wines.  You Go Girls!      

Sandra Doix, Winemaker

Flagship wine and my personal favorite,
65% Grenache, 25% Carignane, 10 % Syrah