Clos Mogador 2011

The 2011 Clos Mogador feels ripe, serious and young. Rene Barbier likes to pick ripe grapes but without any raisins making it into the vats. The wine is a blend of the different grapes in his Clos Mogador vineyard (it's just one of a handful of wines officially awarded the single-vineyard label by the Catalan wine institutions): Garnacha, Carinena, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. But the wine speaks more of the place than the grapes, with notes of slate, thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender, black cherries and a supple palate, full-bodied, with pungent flavors, round, velvety tannins and a long aftertaste. This is a superb effort for such a warm vintage, the warmest and driest in Priorat since 2003, and great value for the quality. 30,000 bottles are produced of this prodigious, powerful but balanced Priorat. Drink 2015-2025. Score - 96. (Luis Gutierrez, erobertparker.com, Feb. 2014)