My absolute favourite from Priorat!
Once again, for the 3rd time this week, a tribute to the Nin Ortiz family from Priorat.
And this tribute is more than deserved. We have been working together for more than 20 years, distributing their wines in Belgium.
From the very beginning, their wines were “cult” wines, and they still are today:
from their fantastic white wines
Selma,
Terra Vermella and
Planetes blanc, to their fabulous red
Planetes and their
Grand Cru wines.
And I certainly must not forget
the sparkling wine made by their son Andreu: that delicious
Astral 2023 looks very promising for this summer!
But in 2023, which one is their absolute top wine for me?
I don’t need to think about that for long. The wine that impressed me most this year was their “La Coma d’en Romeu”, one of their 3 Grand Crus.
2015 was the first vintage of this wine, sourced from a tiny 1.5 ha plot planted in 1943 by Enric and Maria of Cal Bosch. 100% Garnatxa, surrounded by woods, almond trees, hazelnut trees, olive trees and other fruit trees. A feast for the eyes during blossom season! From those 1.5 ha, only 2200 to 2500 bottles are produced each year, including 2360 in 2023.
Pure, mineral and full-bodied Garnatxa with a fantastic finish, great length and complexity.
A wine that is already delicious today, believe me, but will also age beautifully.
So make some room in your cellar for a small shrine in honour of the Nin i Ortiz family, and place a few bottles of this unique La Coma d’en Romeu 2023 next to your Terra Vermella and Planetes Classic.
This 2023 is truly fabulous. Not cheap, I gladly admit that, but it does come from a unique vineyard with very low yields. This is cult.
R. Parker: 98/100 La Coma d’en Romeu 2023
"This time, I tasted the bottled version of the 2023 La Coma d’en Romeu, which I had previewed last year. Next to the Flor de la Coma, this has the same character but with a lot more of everything: complexity, depth, color and clout. The only difference between the two is that this fermented with 100% full clusters, but the rest is the same. It was a more powerful and concentrated year in Porrera, which delivered a darker wine, earthier and warmer, riper and rounder, with a full-bodied palate, abundant slightly dusty tannins and tons of wild and characterful Mediterranean aromatic herbs, reflecting the diversity of the place. It also has notes of dark berries and a touch of graphite. 2,360 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2025.
The 2023 wines were better than expected; the aromas of the fermentations were spectacular—according to their son Andreu, who is now fully involved in their operations—and those aromas came back during the blending of the wines.
The wines have a little more alcohol in 2023 than in 2022 and 2024 (the plants got blocked); yields were lower in 2023 than in 2022, and the yields in 2024 were muuuuuch lower. In general, the 2023s feel less concentrated and fresher, possibly due to the point of balance: they’re not as fresh as in 2020 but not as warm/concentrated as in the 2022s. In short, 2023 was a sort of miracle."
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