2016 Sara Pérez y René Barbier Gratallops Partida Bellvisos

When Rene Barbier got the abandoned very old "coster" (steeply sloping traditional Priorat vineyard) back into production it was thought they had bought a plot of Carinyena (Carignan) ... and to their great surprise they discovered that 40% of the plot consisted of Garnatxa Peluda (native Grenache). This grape ripens before the Carinyena (Carignan) and gives more freshness. Coincidence and luck because it is the last piece of the puzzle that was needed to convey the balance of Bellvisos.

The Gratallops Partida Bellvisos is a dazzling wine with a long maceration that needs oak and time in the bottle to be reborn, fine, seductive, fresh and powerful ... in which the Llicorella (slate soil) has inextricably formed the wine. The 2014 has many similarities with 2013. Both relatively wet years in the Priorat. Very elegant, full of character and wine with many complex layers. The wine matures in an oak barrel of 1,800 liters and this ensures that the oak is very subtle. This wine has a lot of character, great acidity and fine minerality, with a clean, very focused finish. It is still young but approachable and should develop nicely in the bottle. Really phenomenal. 2000 bottles and a few magnums were produced.

96/100 Parker