Salanques 2012

"Even the entry-level red is produced with the fruit of very old and low-yielding vines (except the French varieties which are always much younger in Priorat), as is the case of the 2012 Salanques, a worthy follow up to the 2010. Opening to aromas of violets that I associate with the 10% Syrah in the blend, the bulk of the blend is Garnacha (65%) and the rest Cariñena and shows lots of power and balance. This rich, powerful, concentrated Priorat is full of the austerity of the schist slopes and the dry landscape of Poboleda where all their vineyards are located. The tannins are fine-grained and abundant, and the wine should develop and get polished in bottle for a long time. This kind of wine needs really powerful food to match the power of the wine. I see better balance and freshness here than in the 2011. The yields were minuscule in 2012, 50 or 600 grams of grapes per plant, which means they needed the fruit of two vines to produce one bottle of Salanques. 18,000 bottles produced".