2022 Nin-Ortiz Nit de Nin Mas d’en Caçador
| Type of Wine | |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Region | |
| Appellation | Priorat (Appellation) |
| Winery | |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Grape | , |
| Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (14%) |
| Drink window | 2025 - 2045 |
In stock
6 items available
Description
Ester Nin and Carles Ortiz are the proud owners of this tiny wine estate with vineyards in Porrera and Torroja and in Gratallops. Ester is an oenologist and biologist and originally comes from the higher part of the Penedès, in El Pla de Manlleu. Carles is responsible for the vineyard, together with his mules Negret and Max. Ester is best known for her work as oenologist of Clos Erasmus in Gratallops and of NUN, the top white wine of Enric Soler in the Penedès, of which she vinified the first vintages. In all her projects she resolutely opts for biodynamics. The Planetes: is located on a llicorella plot with a lot of iron oxide, called ferral, much harder than normal llicorella. The new vineyards (between 5 and 13 years old) are planted on terraces and partly on old 'costers' (Carinyena), visible from the road between Falset and Porrera.
The Mas d'en Caçador is a single vineyard located in the village of Porrera, at an altitude of 650 meters. The vineyard is only 1.5 hectares and one of the highest in Priorat. Production of approximately 1500 bottles. The whole bunches, partially destemmed, undergo alcoholic fermentation with natural yeast cells in foeders for a period of 4 weeks. Maturation of 16 months in a foeder of French oak of 2700 liters. No filtration. Minimum dose of SO2 just before bottling.
The Nin-Ortiz Nit de Nin Mas d'en Caçador is deep red and young in colour. Very open aromas that are slightly fresher in style than those of the La Coma d'en Romeu, this because of its more northerly location. More expression of the slate subsoil. Slightly spicier in style, great class, complex and with an infinite length. 98/100 Parker
Specifications
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Catalunya |
| Appellation | Priorat (Appellation) |
| Winery | Nin-Ortiz |
| Grape | Garnacha, Grenache |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Drinking as of | 2025 |
| Drinking till | 2045 |
| Alcohol % | 14 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Parker rating | 100 |
| Vinous rating | 96 |
| Tasting Profiles | Aards, Boers, Complex, Donker fruit, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Kruidig, Tannines, Vol |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe, Open haard |
Professional Reviews
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 100
Reviewed by:
Luis Gutiérrez
Release Price:
$170
Drink Date:
2023 - 2043
The 2020 Nit de Nin Mas d’en Caçador is elegant, complex and subtle, nuanced and insinuating, somewhere between the austerity of the 2018 and the exuberance of the 2019. The palate shows terrific balance, very fine tannins (the perfect tannins!) and a long, very clean and supple finish. A vintage of finesse and elegance with energy, power and light. This is refined beyond comprehension; there's purity, elegance, power and detail, symmetry and proportion. A wine that took my breath away. Just for the record, the vineyard is a 3.4-hectare slope planted between 81 and 116 years ago with Garnacha, Garnacha Peluda, Cariñena and 2% white varieties at 650 meters in altitude on pure slate that they harvested on September 10th and got 12 hectoliters per hectare (extremely low yields). The full clusters fermented with indigenous yeasts in a 3,200-liter oak foudre for four weeks, and the wine matured in 225- and 300-liter oak barrels for 18 months. It has 14.64% alcohol, a pH of 3.3 and 5.4 grams of acidity (tartaric). 2,193 bottles were filled in April 2022.
The Nin-Ortiz family have built their winery in their Planetes Vineyard in the limit between Falset and Porrera. When the whites are harvested, they keep the boxes with the bunches in a cold storage for one or two days, then press the bunches and let the must settle, and then they fill the barrels the next day. They started experimenting with some skin contact in 2019 (one barrel) and continued with a little more in the following vintages, varying the length of the maceration; they started with five and went up to 15, and then the wines are in barrel for eight months. They use barrels from different coopers and ages. The reds are produced in different ways, but all the old vines are 100% full clusters; the young-vine Garnacha is destemmed and Cariñena is also full cluster. Each parcel has its fermentation vat, the young one in stainless steel and the rest in oak. Indigenous yeasts are used with all the wines, and they us as little sulfur as possible. All their vineyards are certified organic and they don't buy any grapes, but they don't have the seals for the certifications, because it's a lot of paperwork (and money!). They are in the process of getting Cariñena Blanca approved for the Priorat appellation.
2020 was the year of mildew (700 liters of rain!), but they "only" lost 25% of the crop by working a lot in the vineyard; it's a year they say they'll never forget. For them, 2020 is not a warm year; the skins were perfect and the wines were super aromatic from the day they started fermenting in the winery. For them, it's an exceptional vintage, the most Burgundian vintage since they started. 2019 was a warm year, a classical vintage that resulted in more powerful wines, but a heat wave in August burned some grapes (15% of loss), and it affected Cariñena more than Garnacha. And the same plants that were affected by the heat wave were also more affected by the mildew, and it also had a more devastating result on Cariñena than on Garnacha.
In 2021 they had 70 centimeters of rain in January, so the vines had water and were rested and there was a huge crop. The summer was dry, but at the end of August, it started raining . . . and the grapes wouldn't ripen. Alcohol levels were down and many asked the appellation to lower the requested limit of 13% in whites 13.5% in reds . . . but they wouldn't allow it. The wines have more acidity and lower alcohol and should age nicely.
They work in Priorat and in the Pla de Manlleu zone of Penedès, where Nin is from (but there without appellation of origin), and this is how they introduce themselves: "We only work with our own vineyards and bottle by parcels, to preserve the identity of the place and soils. We do not buy grapes, in order to guarantee that all our wines are made with 100% certified organic grapes. We are part of 'La Renaissance des Appellations' as a qualitative seal of biodynamic viticulture, in order to obtain healthy grapes without residues, which allows us to make spontaneous fermentations without adding SO2 during the fermentation."
Published: Sep 30, 2022
Rating
98
Release Price
$150
Drink Date
2023 - 2030
Reviewed by
Luis Gutiérrez
Issue Date
30th Sep 2022
Source
End of September 2022, The Wine Advocate
The 2019 Nit de Nin Mas d’en Caçador has the exotic aroma of berries and ripe plums, sour cherries, graphite, classical Priorat, perfumed, extroverted and exuberant, which makes it really attractive and showy. It's super aromatic, with notes of kirsch, exotic spices, Mediterranean herbs and decayed violets. This is hedonistic and decadent, with slightly dusty tannins. 2,664 bottles produced.
The Nin-Ortiz family have built their winery in their Planetes Vineyard in the limit between Falset and Porrera. When the whites are harvested, they keep the boxes with the bunches in a cold storage for one or two days, then press the bunches and let the must settle, and then they fill the barrels the next day. They started experimenting with some skin contact in 2019 (one barrel) and continued with a little more in the following vintages, varying the length of the maceration; they started with five and went up to 15, and then the wines are in barrel for eight months. They use barrels from different coopers and ages. The reds are produced in different ways, but all the old vines are 100% full clusters; the young-vine Garnacha is destemmed and Cariñena is also full cluster. Each parcel has its fermentation vat, the young one in stainless steel and the rest in oak. Indigenous yeasts are used with all the wines, and they us as little sulfur as possible. All their vineyards are certified organic and they don't buy any grapes, but they don't have the seals for the certifications, because it's a lot of paperwork (and money!). They are in the process of getting Cariñena Blanca approved for the Priorat appellation.
2020 was the year of mildew (700 liters of rain!), but they "only" lost 25% of the crop by working a lot in the vineyard; it's a year they say they'll never forget. For them, 2020 is not a warm year; the skins were perfect and the wines were super aromatic from the day they started fermenting in the winery. For them, it's an exceptional vintage, the most Burgundian vintage since they started. 2019 was a warm year, a classical vintage that resulted in more powerful wines, but a heat wave in August burned some grapes (15% of loss), and it affected Cariñena more than Garnacha. And the same plants that were affected by the heat wave were also more affected by the mildew, and it also had a more devastating result on Cariñena than on Garnacha.
In 2021 they had 70 centimeters of rain in January, so the vines had water and were rested and there was a huge crop. The summer was dry, but at the end of August, it started raining . . . and the grapes wouldn't ripen. Alcohol levels were down and many asked the appellation to lower the requested limit of 13% in whites 13.5% in reds . . . but they wouldn't allow it. The wines have more acidity and lower alcohol and should age nicely.
They work in Priorat and in the Pla de Manlleu zone of Penedès, where Nin is from (but there without appellation of origin), and this is how they introduce themselves: "We only work with our own vineyards and bottle by parcels, to preserve the identity of the place and soils. We do not buy grapes, in order to guarantee that all our wines are made with 100% certified organic grapes. We are part of 'La Renaissance des Appellations' as a qualitative seal of biodynamic viticulture, in order to obtain healthy grapes without residues, which allows us to make spontaneous fermentations without adding SO2 during the fermentation."
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
96
Drinking Window
2025 - 2036
From: From Revolution to Evolution: The Garnatxas and Cariñenas of Priorat & Montsant (Nov 2024)
The 2021 Nit De Nin Mas d'En Caçador is a blend of 72% Garnatxa and Garnatxa Peluda with 28% Carignan, sourced from Porrera in Priorat. Fermented with 100% whole clusters and aged for 18 months in barrel, this wine is highly expressive, revealing aromas of violets, roses, grapefruit, blood and undergrowth. Dry, lean and juicy, it offers a talc-like texture on the palate, contributing to a long-lasting mouthfeel. This is a modern interpretation of Priorat, showcasing a light, ethereal expression contrasted by deep, enduring flavors—a beautiful wine.
- By Joaquín Hidalgo on November 2024
Ester Nin and Carles Ortiz began work on a winery in Porrera in 2018, built in the heart of an amphitheater created by their biodynamically farmed vineyard. This project continues a story that began in 2004 when Nin, a student of Josep Lluis Pérez, crafted Nit de Nin for the first time. In 2008, Nin and Ortiz launched Planetes de Nin. The two work the vineyard by hand and harvest early. “We harvest when the pH reaches 3.2,” Ortiz tells me, giving a clear idea of the house style, which combines vigor with nimbleness. The Nin Ortiz wines are ethereal, energetic Garnatxas that seem rather countercultural today. Familia Nin Ortiz is a member of the Renaissance des Appellations, a group of biodynamic wineries that campaign for diversity and a greater expression of terroir.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
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Wijnhuis
Ester Nin and Carles Ortiz are the proud owners of this tiny wine estate with vineyards in Porrera and Torroja, and Gratallops. Ester is an oenologist and biologist originally from the higher part of the Penedès, in El Pla de Manlleu. Carles is in charge of the vineyard, along with his mules Negret and Max. Ester is best known for her work as an oenologist of Clos Erasmus in Gratallops and of NUN, the top white wine of Enric Soler in the Penedès, of which she vinified the first vintages. In all her projects, she resolutely opts for biodynamics.
In 2004, she bought a small plot of land with just over 1 ha of vineyard, Mas d'en Caçador: a steep slope high above the road from Porrera to Torroja. 2004 was also the first harvest of its own wine (barely one barrique), the Nit de Nin, which immediately gained cult status and monster scores. In the early years, it was just Garnatxa and Carinyena. For the Nit de Nin this is 60% Garnatxa Peluda and for the Planetes 70% Garnatxa País. The Garnatxa Peluda is mixed with old Carinyena planted on steep slopes (costers). The Planetes vineyards (5 ha) consist of 4 ha Garnatxa on terraces and 1ha Carinyena on a steep slope. The new canes that have been planted are clones that have taken themselves from old Carinyena. In the meantime, several almost extinct cépages have been added to the portfolio. The native white Montanega, which is a variant of the Parellada, for the Terra Vermella. Ester's other white crown jewel is the Selma de Nin, originating from Penedès, more specifically the village of Selma, where an elevated parcel of the family is bombarded with Chenin Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Xarello.
All vineyards are biodynamically worked with the help of two mules and are located on pure llicorella (slate) spread over:
Mas d'en Caçador, three small vineyards on steep slopes (costers), with orientation north-east, north-west, between 400 and 650 m altitudes. This is one of the highest vineyards in Priorat, seen from the road between Porrera and Torroja.
Planetes: llicorella with a lot of iron oxide called ferral, much harder than regular llicorella. The new vineyards (between 5 and 13 years old) are planted on terraces and part on old 'costers' (Carinyena), visible from the road between Falset and Porrera.
Coma d'en Romeu: Grand cru vineyard covered with 75 years old Garnacha at an altitude of 350 m. Ilicorella and southern orientation.
La Rodeda: Located near Mas d'en Cacador with 80-year-old Garnatxa Peluda at an altitude of 700 m. Here too llicorella is the main soil component.
Selma de Nin: Located at an altitude of 750 meters with a limestone subsoil and a limited amount of clay.
Terra Vermella: The "red grounds" is the literal translation of the name of this white wine. The subsoil here consists mainly of ferruginous clay mixed with stones at an altitude of 550 m.
Only indigenous yeasts are used with an absolute minimum of sulfur. An extensive selection, in which all the overripe grapes are removed, ensures elegant and mineral wines. One page a day, manual and gentle. Then 18 months élevage in French oak barrels, 1/3 new.
The Planetes is selected in the same way. Fermentation and élevage for 12 to 14 months take place in 3000-liter French oak conical foeders and partly in Nit de Nin barriques from the previous year. Over the years, Ester has been omitting more and more barrique in favor of amphorae and large foeders. In the meantime, the couple has managed to build a small, functional bodega integrated into the vineyards. The harvest year 2020 is the first vintage that was vinified here.
Ester Nin and Carles Ortiz are the proud owners of this tiny wine estate with vineyards in Porrera and Torroja and in Gratallops. Ester is an oenologist and biologist and originally comes from the higher part of the Penedès, in El Pla de Manlleu. Carles is responsible for the vineyard, together with his mules Negret and Max. Ester is best known for her work as oenologist of Clos Erasmus in Gratallops and of NUN, the top white wine of Enric Soler in the Penedès, of which she vinified the first vintages. In all her projects she resolutely opts for biodynamics. The Planetes: is located on a llicorella plot with a lot of iron oxide, called ferral, much harder than normal llicorella. The new vineyards (between 5 and 13 years old) are planted on terraces and partly on old 'costers' (Carinyena), visible from the road between Falset and Porrera.
The Mas d'en Caçador is a single vineyard located in the village of Porrera, at an altitude of 650 meters. The vineyard is only 1.5 hectares and one of the highest in Priorat. Production of approximately 1500 bottles. The whole bunches, partially destemmed, undergo alcoholic fermentation with natural yeast cells in foeders for a period of 4 weeks. Maturation of 16 months in a foeder of French oak of 2700 liters. No filtration. Minimum dose of SO2 just before bottling.
The Nin-Ortiz Nit de Nin Mas d'en Caçador is deep red and young in colour. Very open aromas that are slightly fresher in style than those of the La Coma d'en Romeu, this because of its more northerly location. More expression of the slate subsoil. Slightly spicier in style, great class, complex and with an infinite length. 98/100 Parker
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Catalunya |
| Appellation | Priorat (Appellation) |
| Winery | Nin-Ortiz |
| Grape | Garnacha, Grenache |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Drinking as of | 2025 |
| Drinking till | 2045 |
| Alcohol % | 14 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Parker rating | 100 |
| Vinous rating | 96 |
| Tasting Profiles | Aards, Boers, Complex, Donker fruit, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Kruidig, Tannines, Vol |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe, Open haard |
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 100
Reviewed by:
Luis Gutiérrez
Release Price:
$170
Drink Date:
2023 - 2043
The 2020 Nit de Nin Mas d’en Caçador is elegant, complex and subtle, nuanced and insinuating, somewhere between the austerity of the 2018 and the exuberance of the 2019. The palate shows terrific balance, very fine tannins (the perfect tannins!) and a long, very clean and supple finish. A vintage of finesse and elegance with energy, power and light. This is refined beyond comprehension; there's purity, elegance, power and detail, symmetry and proportion. A wine that took my breath away. Just for the record, the vineyard is a 3.4-hectare slope planted between 81 and 116 years ago with Garnacha, Garnacha Peluda, Cariñena and 2% white varieties at 650 meters in altitude on pure slate that they harvested on September 10th and got 12 hectoliters per hectare (extremely low yields). The full clusters fermented with indigenous yeasts in a 3,200-liter oak foudre for four weeks, and the wine matured in 225- and 300-liter oak barrels for 18 months. It has 14.64% alcohol, a pH of 3.3 and 5.4 grams of acidity (tartaric). 2,193 bottles were filled in April 2022.
The Nin-Ortiz family have built their winery in their Planetes Vineyard in the limit between Falset and Porrera. When the whites are harvested, they keep the boxes with the bunches in a cold storage for one or two days, then press the bunches and let the must settle, and then they fill the barrels the next day. They started experimenting with some skin contact in 2019 (one barrel) and continued with a little more in the following vintages, varying the length of the maceration; they started with five and went up to 15, and then the wines are in barrel for eight months. They use barrels from different coopers and ages. The reds are produced in different ways, but all the old vines are 100% full clusters; the young-vine Garnacha is destemmed and Cariñena is also full cluster. Each parcel has its fermentation vat, the young one in stainless steel and the rest in oak. Indigenous yeasts are used with all the wines, and they us as little sulfur as possible. All their vineyards are certified organic and they don't buy any grapes, but they don't have the seals for the certifications, because it's a lot of paperwork (and money!). They are in the process of getting Cariñena Blanca approved for the Priorat appellation.
2020 was the year of mildew (700 liters of rain!), but they "only" lost 25% of the crop by working a lot in the vineyard; it's a year they say they'll never forget. For them, 2020 is not a warm year; the skins were perfect and the wines were super aromatic from the day they started fermenting in the winery. For them, it's an exceptional vintage, the most Burgundian vintage since they started. 2019 was a warm year, a classical vintage that resulted in more powerful wines, but a heat wave in August burned some grapes (15% of loss), and it affected Cariñena more than Garnacha. And the same plants that were affected by the heat wave were also more affected by the mildew, and it also had a more devastating result on Cariñena than on Garnacha.
In 2021 they had 70 centimeters of rain in January, so the vines had water and were rested and there was a huge crop. The summer was dry, but at the end of August, it started raining . . . and the grapes wouldn't ripen. Alcohol levels were down and many asked the appellation to lower the requested limit of 13% in whites 13.5% in reds . . . but they wouldn't allow it. The wines have more acidity and lower alcohol and should age nicely.
They work in Priorat and in the Pla de Manlleu zone of Penedès, where Nin is from (but there without appellation of origin), and this is how they introduce themselves: "We only work with our own vineyards and bottle by parcels, to preserve the identity of the place and soils. We do not buy grapes, in order to guarantee that all our wines are made with 100% certified organic grapes. We are part of 'La Renaissance des Appellations' as a qualitative seal of biodynamic viticulture, in order to obtain healthy grapes without residues, which allows us to make spontaneous fermentations without adding SO2 during the fermentation."
Published: Sep 30, 2022
Rating
98
Release Price
$150
Drink Date
2023 - 2030
Reviewed by
Luis Gutiérrez
Issue Date
30th Sep 2022
Source
End of September 2022, The Wine Advocate
The 2019 Nit de Nin Mas d’en Caçador has the exotic aroma of berries and ripe plums, sour cherries, graphite, classical Priorat, perfumed, extroverted and exuberant, which makes it really attractive and showy. It's super aromatic, with notes of kirsch, exotic spices, Mediterranean herbs and decayed violets. This is hedonistic and decadent, with slightly dusty tannins. 2,664 bottles produced.
The Nin-Ortiz family have built their winery in their Planetes Vineyard in the limit between Falset and Porrera. When the whites are harvested, they keep the boxes with the bunches in a cold storage for one or two days, then press the bunches and let the must settle, and then they fill the barrels the next day. They started experimenting with some skin contact in 2019 (one barrel) and continued with a little more in the following vintages, varying the length of the maceration; they started with five and went up to 15, and then the wines are in barrel for eight months. They use barrels from different coopers and ages. The reds are produced in different ways, but all the old vines are 100% full clusters; the young-vine Garnacha is destemmed and Cariñena is also full cluster. Each parcel has its fermentation vat, the young one in stainless steel and the rest in oak. Indigenous yeasts are used with all the wines, and they us as little sulfur as possible. All their vineyards are certified organic and they don't buy any grapes, but they don't have the seals for the certifications, because it's a lot of paperwork (and money!). They are in the process of getting Cariñena Blanca approved for the Priorat appellation.
2020 was the year of mildew (700 liters of rain!), but they "only" lost 25% of the crop by working a lot in the vineyard; it's a year they say they'll never forget. For them, 2020 is not a warm year; the skins were perfect and the wines were super aromatic from the day they started fermenting in the winery. For them, it's an exceptional vintage, the most Burgundian vintage since they started. 2019 was a warm year, a classical vintage that resulted in more powerful wines, but a heat wave in August burned some grapes (15% of loss), and it affected Cariñena more than Garnacha. And the same plants that were affected by the heat wave were also more affected by the mildew, and it also had a more devastating result on Cariñena than on Garnacha.
In 2021 they had 70 centimeters of rain in January, so the vines had water and were rested and there was a huge crop. The summer was dry, but at the end of August, it started raining . . . and the grapes wouldn't ripen. Alcohol levels were down and many asked the appellation to lower the requested limit of 13% in whites 13.5% in reds . . . but they wouldn't allow it. The wines have more acidity and lower alcohol and should age nicely.
They work in Priorat and in the Pla de Manlleu zone of Penedès, where Nin is from (but there without appellation of origin), and this is how they introduce themselves: "We only work with our own vineyards and bottle by parcels, to preserve the identity of the place and soils. We do not buy grapes, in order to guarantee that all our wines are made with 100% certified organic grapes. We are part of 'La Renaissance des Appellations' as a qualitative seal of biodynamic viticulture, in order to obtain healthy grapes without residues, which allows us to make spontaneous fermentations without adding SO2 during the fermentation."
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
96
Drinking Window
2025 - 2036
From: From Revolution to Evolution: The Garnatxas and Cariñenas of Priorat & Montsant (Nov 2024)
The 2021 Nit De Nin Mas d'En Caçador is a blend of 72% Garnatxa and Garnatxa Peluda with 28% Carignan, sourced from Porrera in Priorat. Fermented with 100% whole clusters and aged for 18 months in barrel, this wine is highly expressive, revealing aromas of violets, roses, grapefruit, blood and undergrowth. Dry, lean and juicy, it offers a talc-like texture on the palate, contributing to a long-lasting mouthfeel. This is a modern interpretation of Priorat, showcasing a light, ethereal expression contrasted by deep, enduring flavors—a beautiful wine.
- By Joaquín Hidalgo on November 2024
Ester Nin and Carles Ortiz began work on a winery in Porrera in 2018, built in the heart of an amphitheater created by their biodynamically farmed vineyard. This project continues a story that began in 2004 when Nin, a student of Josep Lluis Pérez, crafted Nit de Nin for the first time. In 2008, Nin and Ortiz launched Planetes de Nin. The two work the vineyard by hand and harvest early. “We harvest when the pH reaches 3.2,” Ortiz tells me, giving a clear idea of the house style, which combines vigor with nimbleness. The Nin Ortiz wines are ethereal, energetic Garnatxas that seem rather countercultural today. Familia Nin Ortiz is a member of the Renaissance des Appellations, a group of biodynamic wineries that campaign for diversity and a greater expression of terroir.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
Sign in to unlock professional wine reviews from world-renowned critics
Ester Nin and Carles Ortiz are the proud owners of this tiny wine estate with vineyards in Porrera and Torroja, and Gratallops. Ester is an oenologist and biologist originally from the higher part of the Penedès, in El Pla de Manlleu. Carles is in charge of the vineyard, along with his mules Negret and Max. Ester is best known for her work as an oenologist of Clos Erasmus in Gratallops and of NUN, the top white wine of Enric Soler in the Penedès, of which she vinified the first vintages. In all her projects, she resolutely opts for biodynamics.
In 2004, she bought a small plot of land with just over 1 ha of vineyard, Mas d'en Caçador: a steep slope high above the road from Porrera to Torroja. 2004 was also the first harvest of its own wine (barely one barrique), the Nit de Nin, which immediately gained cult status and monster scores. In the early years, it was just Garnatxa and Carinyena. For the Nit de Nin this is 60% Garnatxa Peluda and for the Planetes 70% Garnatxa País. The Garnatxa Peluda is mixed with old Carinyena planted on steep slopes (costers). The Planetes vineyards (5 ha) consist of 4 ha Garnatxa on terraces and 1ha Carinyena on a steep slope. The new canes that have been planted are clones that have taken themselves from old Carinyena. In the meantime, several almost extinct cépages have been added to the portfolio. The native white Montanega, which is a variant of the Parellada, for the Terra Vermella. Ester's other white crown jewel is the Selma de Nin, originating from Penedès, more specifically the village of Selma, where an elevated parcel of the family is bombarded with Chenin Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Xarello.
All vineyards are biodynamically worked with the help of two mules and are located on pure llicorella (slate) spread over:
Mas d'en Caçador, three small vineyards on steep slopes (costers), with orientation north-east, north-west, between 400 and 650 m altitudes. This is one of the highest vineyards in Priorat, seen from the road between Porrera and Torroja.
Planetes: llicorella with a lot of iron oxide called ferral, much harder than regular llicorella. The new vineyards (between 5 and 13 years old) are planted on terraces and part on old 'costers' (Carinyena), visible from the road between Falset and Porrera.
Coma d'en Romeu: Grand cru vineyard covered with 75 years old Garnacha at an altitude of 350 m. Ilicorella and southern orientation.
La Rodeda: Located near Mas d'en Cacador with 80-year-old Garnatxa Peluda at an altitude of 700 m. Here too llicorella is the main soil component.
Selma de Nin: Located at an altitude of 750 meters with a limestone subsoil and a limited amount of clay.
Terra Vermella: The "red grounds" is the literal translation of the name of this white wine. The subsoil here consists mainly of ferruginous clay mixed with stones at an altitude of 550 m.
Only indigenous yeasts are used with an absolute minimum of sulfur. An extensive selection, in which all the overripe grapes are removed, ensures elegant and mineral wines. One page a day, manual and gentle. Then 18 months élevage in French oak barrels, 1/3 new.
The Planetes is selected in the same way. Fermentation and élevage for 12 to 14 months take place in 3000-liter French oak conical foeders and partly in Nit de Nin barriques from the previous year. Over the years, Ester has been omitting more and more barrique in favor of amphorae and large foeders. In the meantime, the couple has managed to build a small, functional bodega integrated into the vineyards. The harvest year 2020 is the first vintage that was vinified here.