Priorat (DOQ)
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Priorat is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa) (Denominació d'Origen Qualificada (DOQ) in Catalan) for wines located in the comarca (county) of the same name in the centre-north of the province of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain) covering eleven municipalities. It primarily produces powerful red wines, which came to international attention in the 1990s. The area is characterised by its unique terroir of black slate and quartz soil know as llicorella.[1]
It is only the second wine region in Spain to qualify as DOCa, the second highest qualification level for a wine region according to Spanish wine regulations, alongside Rioja DOCa. [2]
Priorat is the Catalan spelling, which is the one usually appearing on wine labels, while the Spanish spelling is Priorato.[2]
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[edit] History
The first recorded evidence of grape growing and wine production dates from the 12th century, when the monks from the Carthusian Monastery of Scala Dei, founded in 1163, introduced the art of viticulture in the area. The prior of Scala Dei ruled as a feudal lord over seven villages in the area, which gave rise to the name Priorat. The monks tended the vineyards for centuries until 1835 when they were expropriated by the state, and distributed to smallholders.
At the end of the 19th century, the phylloxera pest devastated the vineyards causing economic ruin and large scale emigration of the population. Before the phylloxera struck, Priorat is supposed to have had around 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of vineyards.[3] It was not until the 1950s that replanting was undertaken. The DO Priorat was formally created in 1954. The seat of the DO's regulatory body was initially Reus, which is in Tarragona rather than in Priorat itself.
In the decade from 1985, the production of bulk wine was phased out and bottling of quality wine phased in.
Early on, winemaking cooperatives dominated. Much of the development of Priorat wines to top class is credited to René Barbier and Álvaro Palacios.[4] Winemaker Barbier, then active at a winery in Rioja owned by the Palacios family, bought his first land for Priorat vineyards in 1979, convinced of the regions potential. At this stage, there were 600 hectares (1,500 acres) of Priorat vineyards. In the 1980s, he convinced others, including Palacios, to follow suit and plant new vineyards in suitable locations, all named Clos. For the first three vintages, 1989-1991, the group of five wineries pooled their grapes, shared a winery in Gratallops, and made one wine sold under five labels: Clos Mogador (Barbier), Clos Dofi (Palacios, later renamed to Finca Dofi), Clos Erasmus, Clos Martinet and Clos de l'Obac. From 1992, these wines were made separately. In 1993, Palacios produced a wine called L'Ermita sourced from very old Priorat vines, which led to an increased interest in using the region's existing vineyards to produce wines in a new style.
The Catalonian authorities approved of Priorat's elevation from DO to DOQ status in 2000, but national level confirmation from Madrid still (as of early 2009) hasn't come. A new set of DOQ rules were approved by the Catalan government in 2006. The regulatory body moved from Reus to Torroja del Priorat in 1999.
The vineyard surface of Priorat has been continuously expanding since the Clos-led quality revolution in the 1990s. At the turn of the millenium there was 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of vineyards,[3] with an equal amount of planting rights secured. Today, there are 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres).
[edit] Geography
The DOQ comprises the valleys of the rivers Siruana and Montsant. The vineyards are planted on the slopes on terraces at altitudes of between 100 m and 700 m above sea level. Priorat is almost entirely surrounded by the DO Montsant.
The demarcated zone has a total size of 19,783 hectares (48,880 acres).
[edit] Soils
The area is of volcanic origin which confers interesting characteristics to the soil. The basis (called llicorella in Catalán) comprises reddish and black slate with small particles of mica, which reflects the sunlight and conserves heat. The 50 cm thick topsoil is formed of decomposed slate and mica. These characteristics force the roots of the vines to reach the base for water, nutrition and minerals. These soil characteristics confer special quality to the wine and keep the vines firmly anchored to the earth during the strong winds and storms which are common to the area.
[edit] Climate
Even though El Priorat DOQ is a small area, there are several different micro-climates present. Generally, the climate is more extreme than most continental climate areas, though there is a marked contrast between the valleys and the higher areas. There are both freezing winds from the north (mitigated somewhat by the Montsant mountain) and also the warm Mistral wind from the east.
Summers are long, hot and dry (max temperature 35°) while winters are cold (min temperature -4°C). There is the occasional risk of frost, hailstones and drought. The average annual temperature is 15°C, and average annual rainfall is 400-600 mm.
[edit] Grapes
The traditional grape variety grown in El Priorat is the red Garnacha Tinta, which is found in all the older vineyards. Also authorised are the following red varieties: Garnacha Peluda, Cariñena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Four white varieties are also authorised: Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo, Pedro Ximénez and Chenin.
Yields are very low, usually much lower than the authorised maximum yield of 6,000 kg/ha, due to the rocky nature of the soil that does not allow the accumulation of water. The vines are usually planted as low bushes (en vaso) though the newer vineyards tend to be planted on trellises (en espaldera).
As of 2006, Priorat had 1,662 hectares (4,110 acres) of vineyards, of which 1,562 hectares (3,860 acres) or 94% was planted with red varieties, and 100 hectares (250 acres) or 6% with white varieties.[5] The average planting density was 2,700 vines per hectare, compared to the mandated 2,500 to 9,000 vines per hectare.
The distribution of grape varieties was as follows:
| Priorat grape varieties (2006 situation)[5] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red varieties | White varieties | ||||
| Variety | Planted area (ha) | Number of vines | Variety | Planted area (ha) | Number of vines |
| Garnacha Tinta | 666.89 | 1 842 287 | Garnacha Blanca | 45.69 | 102 589 |
| Cariñena | 520.98 | 1 261 224 | Macabeo | 36.51 | 81 676 |
| Cabernet Sauvignon | 201.75 | 566 712 | Pedro Ximénez | 6.46 | 14 110 |
| Syrah | 90.65 | 316 956 | |||
| Merlot | 58.42 | 204.444 | |||
| Other varieties | 23.41 | 54 585 | Other varieties | 11.79 | 31 577 |
| Sum | 1562.1 | 4 246 208 | Sum | 100.45 | 229 952 |
[edit] Production
In 2007, 4,670,387 kilograms (10,296,440 lb) of grapes were harvested, of which 4,489,285 kilograms (9,897,180 lb) (96%) was red grapes and 181,102 kilograms (399,260 lb) (4%) white grapes.[6] This resulted in 30,355 hectolitres (667,700 imp gal; 801,900 US gal) of wine.[2] During the recent expansion of Priorat vineyards, production of red grapes has expanded, while the production of white grapes has even declined somewhat. Thus, the proportion of white grapes has dropped from 10% in 2001 to 4% in 2007, while the total production increased by 87% over the same period.[6]
The yield in 2007 corresponds to 2,800 kg of grapes per hectare compared to the official maximum of 6,000 kg per hectare, and corresponds to 18 hectoliter per hectare.[2] The official maximum corresponds to a yield of 39 hectoliter per hectare, as a 65% conversion is foreseen. Some producers have yields of only around 5 hectoliter per hectare.[1]
[edit] Wines
The traditional reds from El Priorat are either 100% Garnacha or a blend of Garnacha and Cariñena.
- Crianza wines must remain in oak barrels for 6 months and then 18 months in the bottle.
- Reserva wines must remain in oak barrels for 12 months and then 24 months in the bottle.
- Gran Reserva wines remain in oak barrels for 24 months and then 36 months in the bottle.
Few wineries (bodegas) follow these guidelines strictly, and the usual practice is to produce what is known as vino de guarda (aged wine) that has been in oak barrels for 18 months followed by 6 months in the bottle, the optimal moment for consumption being 2 years later.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Jancis Robinson, ed (2006). "Priorat". Oxford Companion to Wine (Third Edition ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 548. ISBN 0-19-860990-6.
- ^ a b c d Wines from Spain: D.O. Priorato
- ^ a b Johnson, Hugh; Jancis Robinson (2001). World Atlas of Wine (5th ed.). London: Mitchell Beazley. p. 198. ISBN 1-84000-332-4.
- ^ Los Angelese Times, August 14, 2007: Priorat: the next big red
- ^ a b DOQ Priorat: Hectares, accessed on February 28, 2009
- ^ a b DOQ Priorat: Production of grape, accessed on February 28, 2009
- ^ http://www.gencat.net/diari/4618/06102116.htm DOCa Regulations, published in DOGC no. 4618 dated 21-4-2006. In Catalan
