{"product_id":"clos-figueras-2023-serres-del-priorat-tinto-grenache-carignane-syrah-cabernet-sauvignon-priorat-spain","title":"Clos Figueras -- 2023 'Serres del Priorat' Tinto -- Grenache, Carignane, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon -- Priorat, Spain","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003ePriorat, making its first appearance in Kompas Wine Club, has a fascinating and roller coaster history. The steep hills of llicorella (yicko-RAY-uh) slate and quartz soils southwest of Barcelona were first planted and terraced by the Romans and further developed by the Carthusian Monks of Burgundy fame (Priorat is Catalan for priory) in the 12th Century. Phylloxera wiped out the vineyards in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries and the high cost of replanting and farming in the naturally low-yielding llicorella soils, along with labor migration to urban centers and centralized viticultural policies under Franco, meant the area languished until Spain’s political rebirth in the late 70s and 80s. By the late 90s, wines produced by the pioneering new wineries using the oldest vines of Garnacha (Grenache) and Cariñena (Carignane) as well as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot had won Priorat critical acclaim and stratospheric pricing. Indeed, Priorat is the only region besides Rioja to have DOCa status (called DOQ in Catalonia) and commands among the highest prices in Spanish wine. The alcoholic and oaky style of wine that was championed by many critics in the late 90s and 2000s created a backlash in the 2010s, however, and while the style of the average Priorat has changed dramatically towards fresher and less oaky wines, the inherently low-yielding yet labor-intensive vineyards meant that prices could only come down so far. That kept the large majority of Priorat wines above even the baller category for Kompas Club and those that were priced for the baller category were, alas, uninspiring. Enter Clos Figueras (pronounce those esses in Catalan). Founded in 1997 by wine exporter Christopher Cannan with vineyards that had been abandoned eight years earlier with the help of Rene Barbier of Clos Mogador, one of the pioneers of Priorat, he has since been joined by his daughter Anne, who assumed lead winemaking duty in 2014. The Serras del Priorat bottling comes from the certified organically farmed vines planted in 2000 that are aged in second use French oak puncheons (500L). Fresh red cherries, cranberries, and plum with a touch of dried herbs and graphite with elegant, velvety tannins. Can accompany ultra fresh white fish to pork, especially with a mushroom sauce.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kompas Wine Club","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43242090004557,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0078\/4515\/0797\/files\/serras_del_priorat.png?v=1783977898","url":"https:\/\/kompaswineclub.com\/products\/clos-figueras-2023-serres-del-priorat-tinto-grenache-carignane-syrah-cabernet-sauvignon-priorat-spain","provider":"Kompas Wine Club","version":"1.0","type":"link"}