Visiting
Torres, one of Spain's most important wine producers
Part 3, Priorat: Salmos and Perpetual
Over recent years, Priorat has become one
of Spain’s most talked about wine regions, so Catalan giant Torres
became very interested in starting to work here. There was, however,
a significant hurdle: Priorat wines have to be made within the
appellation, which meant the expense of building a separate winery
here. So Torres made a €3million investment to build a winery and
acquire vineyards.
They have 100 hectares of vines here, in
two separate vineyards.I
began my visit in the Porrera vineyards. Torres have 75 hectares
here, and it’s at an altitude of 500 metres. It’s quite a
dramatic spot, with steep slopes, terraces, and bush vines eeking
out an existence from the schist soils. You can hardly call them
soils, actually: they are pretty much pure schist, very similar to
that found in the Douro region of northern Portugal.
Priorat
soils: schist
Torres also have 25 hectares in Lloar,
which is where the winery is situated—called La Solteta vineyard.
This is in view of Gratallops, and it’s warmer here, with an
altitude of 300 metres.
Gratallops
The vineyards are planted with Garnacha,
Cariñena and Syrah. Porrera was planted in 1996, La Stolteta in
1998. There are also some older, preexisting vines that are
used.
Interestingly, there is not a lot of
Garnacha in Priorat, even though it does really well here. Almost
all the old vines are Cariñena, which was what pretty much everyone
planted after phylloxera, even though Garnacha was here in old
times.
In Priorat it is possible to get ripeness
plus good acidity. For example, some wines can have around 16%
alcohol yet still retain enough natural acidity. Torres make two
wines from Priorat, Salmos and Perpetual.
We began by looking at some wines in
barrel. First of all, some old (70 years) Garnacha, a Perpetual
component from Lloar. It’s sweet, ripe and spicy, with some
elegance. The fruit carries the new oak, and it’s quite serious in
a very ripe style.
Then a Syrah from 2011, from Lloar –
again, a new barrel, from 13 year old vines. This is ripe, full,
sweet and powerful with a seductive personality. Impressive. Once
again, in a very ripe style, but it carries it off.
Finally, a Cariñena from a centenarian
vineyard in Lloar. This is ripe, rich and aromatic with lovely
purity. Black cherry fruit with fine grained tannins. Extreme
ripeness but still good acid, and tastes sweet because of the
fruit.
Some bottled wines:
Torres Salmos 2010 Priorat, Spain 50% Cariñena, 30% Garnacha, 20% Syrah. Sweetly aromatic with
pure black cherry and plums, as well as some spice. The palate is
fresh and spicy with intensity and generosity, as well as some
mineral notes. Lovely freshness and ripeness in tandem. Ripe, modern
style.
Torres Perpetual 2009 Priorat, Spain This weighs in at 15% alcohol, and it’s a blend of 90% old
Cariñena and 10 old Garnacha. Vivid colour. Sweet, lush nose shows
blackberries and plums, with sweet vanilla and creamy coconut
overtones. Powerful but rounded in the mouth with lush, creamy fruit
and some spice and mineral complexity. It’s a lush, dense wine but
there’s good definition to the fruit. 93/100
Torres Perpetual 2010 Priorat, Spain
Very deep colour. Concentrated, dense and ripe with mineral, spicy
undertones to the black cherry and blackberry fruit. Concentrated
and intense. Very sweet fruit profile with spice and mineral
undertones. Very impressive in this super-ripe style. 95/100