2018 Portal del Priorat Trossos Sants Blanco

Alfredo Arribas (an established and well-known architect from Barcelona) bought Mas del Portal in 2001. The brilliant project took a major step forward when Ricard Rofes joined the program. Ricard used to be the winemaker for nine years at the El Masroig cooperative, making Les Sortes a brand of international recognition. Ricard knows the areas of Priorat and Montsant very well, especially the small landowners, who have vineyards some of which are 150 years old. Ricard's contribution is an enrichment, he has an enormous knowledge of the area and makes the finest possible Carinena (Carignan). The vineyards are rough with steep slopes, damaged canes are replaced by young canes and only self-fertilization is done without pesticides or other chemicals. They work completely organically. Arribas is currently needed by the top 100 producers in Spain!

ROBERT PARKER (Jay Miller): There are no role models of longevity for these massive Priorats as there are in Bordeaux or Rioja so my timeline involves speculation and extrapolation based on experience and the precision balance that this wine is revealing now.