The only Priorat with Tempranillo in its blend!
The two often go hand in hand: wine lovers who enjoy powerful Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero also tend to appreciate the more powerful Priorats.
Even though the terroirs, grape varieties and regions are completely different…
But wait a minute! There actually is a Priorat that includes Tempranillo in its blend. Hardly anyone knows it, but this has been the case since the very beginning of the Priorat revival.
We are talking about Miserere,
one of the two top wines from Costers del Siurana, one of the five founding fathers of the new Priorat. Their
Clos de l’Obac contains the classic Priorat varieties
Garnatxa and
Carinyena, complemented by
Cabernet,
Syrah and
Merlot.
The Miserere, however, also contains Tempranillo, or “Ull de llebre” in Catalan (literally “hare’s eye”).
You all know Clos de l’Obac as one of our absolute top wines, but perhaps its reputation has somewhat overshadowed the qualities of Miserere. Many people assume that Miserere is a lesser wine than Clos de l’Obac and rank it below its famous sibling.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The main difference lies in the terroir and the blend: while Clos de l’Obac is made from vineyards in Gratallops, the Miserere vineyard is located in Torroja.
Torroja is one of the smallest and most beautiful villages in the region, but it is now also home to one of Priorat’s and Spain’s absolute luxury hotels:
Mas d’en Bruno. The Miserere vineyards are situated just above and below Mas d’en Bruno.
The difference with the vineyards of Clos de l’Obac is that most of the vineyards at Mas d’en Bruno were planted together in the 1970s. Back then, planting was more a matter of trial and error than careful planning. So when the Pastrana family acquired the estate in the 1980s, they found a considerable amount of Ull de llebre growing there. From the very beginning, however, they decided to use it in a blend, in equal parts with Garnatxa and Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, Miserere is still a blend of 27% Garnatxa, 27% Ull de llebre and 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, complemented by 10% Carinyena and 9% Merlot.
Today, Miserere certainly no longer has anything to prove alongside its “brother”,
Clos de l’Obac. Quite the opposite:
with Miserere, Clos de l’Obac now has an “elegant little sister” by its side.
We are very happy to present this Miserere 2015 today. Now more than 10 years old, it is still very young and vibrant, with plenty of ageing potential ahead.
Put a few bottles in your cellar and enjoy them over the next 20 years, knowing that you have the only Priorat with Tempranillo in its blend in your cellar!