Tinto y Blanco » Crinena Blend

Font de le Figuera 2005

Dave Worthington — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:23:29 +0000

A super quick note today. This is the young vines wine from these guys, Garnarcha and Carineña planted in 1998. Surprisingly, this had huge amounts of sediment, so do decant just to get rid of the muck or be very careful pouring it.

What a great little wine, plenty of complexity with a good overview of the landscape in Priorat: herbs, minerals, rocks and sun shine. The nose shows lavender, violets, and a little spearmint after a while too. On the palate its got a sarsaparilla, plum and cherry thing happening, moving on to blueberry as the wine opens up. Some minerals, pepper and hot cinnamon on the finish. A really convincing and complete example of Priorat to drink now and over the next 3 or 4 years. 91 Pts.

Source: Negociants Australia RRP: $65 Closure: Conventional Cork

Cims de Porrera Priorato “Solanes” 2001

Dave Worthington — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 23:17:37 +0000

These guys are apparently one of the stalwarts of Carinena (Mazyelo in Rioja or Carignan in France) for quality wines in Priorat. This wine is a great little blend of 90% Crinaena and 10% Grenacha. I could drink Priorat wines all day, pity about the pricing…

A deep red core, browning at the edges. Great nose of minerals, dark cherry, some floral notes, a bit of smoke and earth as well. Very clean in the mouth, tart raspberries, dark plums and a load of spice and pepper. Its quite integrated and if you're into tannins, you'll love the noticeable but smooth tannins and the long finish. Really enjoyable, I want a second bottle. It could probably improve over a couple of years, but why wait? 91 Pts.

Source: Retail RRP: $65 Closure: Cork