Gratallops 2022

The 2022 Gratallops is a village wine, "vi de vila" in the Catalan language, which is the official category from the Priorat appellation. The wine shows the ancestral mix of local varieties, which this year is 80% Garnacha, 19% Cariñena and 1% white grapes, Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo and Pedro Ximénez from different vineyards in the village. Like the rest of the wines, it fermented with part of full clusters and indigenous yeasts in oak vats, with punching down and, in this case, a maceration of 31 days. The wine will mature in oval foudres and large oak barrels for 14 months. It's pale, bright, very clean, expressive and elegant, with a great sense of harmony, contained ripeness and a medium-bodied palate with very fine tannins and a surprising sense of harmony, perhaps not super complex or deep but with a silky texture that makes it very attractive. It has 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.52 with 4.61 grams of acidity. They expect to produce around 21,000 bottles in March 2024.

This village wine is an aromatic red with red berries and a mineral twist. Elegant and firm on the palate, with lightly chewy tannins that still manage to dissolve. There is a sort of red-fruit elegance that rivals a fine pinot, but it is the Mediterranean garnacha that dominates. Drink or hold. - Zekun Shuai, Senior Editor.