Great value in Priorat too!
Last week, I joined a blind tasting with nothing but red Priorat wines.
And when it’s good, it deserves to be said…
Usually, the most expensive one turns out to be the best. Well… not this time.
Even better: are you looking for a
red Priorat that already drinks beautifully now, comes from a top vintage and also has at least 10 years of ageing potential?
Of course you do!
Drumroll…
Who was the winner?
None other than Ritme Negre 2021 by Albert Jané.
What a wonderfully drinkable Priorat red!
Made from old-vine Carinyena and Garnatxa (and fully organically certified as well!).
Aged for around 10 months in French oak barrels and foudres.
And this time I didn’t need to say “give it a bit more time”.
No, it’s already delicious, fantastic, complex, with great length.
This wine has it all!
And most importantly: it was
the cheapest of the whole line-up!
Due to its location and low yields, Priorat is by no means a cheap wine region. Most entry-level wines start around 25 euros.
But this Ritme comes in just above 20 euros, making it a true champion!
Parker did give it a solid review (91/100), but in my opinion, it deserves much more. Within the tasting line-up, it could easily have scored 95/100.
This is truly outstanding, and with unbeatable value too!
“The 2021 Ritme Negre is a generous and concentrated blend of similar parts of Cariñena and Garnacha that has 15% alcohol and matured in lightly toasted French oak barrels and one 5,000-liter foudre for 10 months. It's aromatic, floral, ripe and spicy with some toast notes and a full-bodied palate with fine tannins and good freshness, finishing with a bitter twist. 62,604 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2023.
Albert Jané hasn't stopped buying and restructuring his vineyards in Priorat for his Ritme Celler project. He now owns 14 hectares and works another six, all organically farmed, to produce close to 80,000 bottles. This year, he has a new impressive Cariñena from coster, slope vineyards, planted in 1920.”