Scala Dei Prior Priorat 2016

Scala Dei Prior Priorat 2016

The expression of the Priorat wines: the gateway to the Priorat, a photograph of the DOQ, this is a red wine of typical priorat profile for two reasons, it is made with the four most cultivated varieties in the region, in the two most common soils, slate and clay.

Varieties: 65% Black Grenache, 15% Carinyena, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Served

Viticulture

The grapes used come from the historic varieties of the area. The vineyards are quite old (35-65 years old) and are grown in terraces in the typical llicorella slopes in Priorat. The orography and, above all, the desire to obtain the best grapes, requires that the harvest is manual. Its various nuances are not only the result of the combination of heights, but also the consequence of the vine’s different orientations –which favour a slow and regular ripening of the grapes. It is, therefore, a unique and highly representative wine from Priorat.

Winemaking

The grapes are previously selected in the vineyards and, when they reach the cellar in small 17-kg boxes, all the grapes are carefully checked by the cellar staff, as they go through the selection table, set in the entrance of the cellar. After deciding on the destemming and the grapes’ treading, we proceed with its fermentation at a thoroughly controlled temperature to retain its aromas.  To enhance the typicity of the vines, we use native yeasts. It then ages in 100% French oak barrels for one year, after which the wine is bottled.

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Sensory features

It is clean and bright. It is ruby red with a high layer of maroon and brown tones on the edge. Its aromas are intense and persistent, reminding us of red berries and black fruits, strawberries, wood, blackberries, violet floral nuances, all paired with subtle spicy hints and toasted notes. It is a wine with a strong body, defined by its fineness, it is then silky in the mouth with ripe and elegant tannins that are complemented with the mineral aromas as a result of the llicorella soil, and balsamic notes due to the clay one

Awards Scala Dei Prior Priorat 2016

Robert Parker 2016: 91 points
Robert Parker 2018: 92 points
Wine & Spirits 2016: 92 points
Wine & Spirits 2018: 93 points
Peñin Guide 2016: 91 points
Gourmet 2016 Guide: 91 points
Guide Gourmets 2018: 94 points
Gourmets 2019 Guide: 94 points
Cinve 2017: Gold Medal
Guide ABC 2017: 94 points
Guide ABC 2019: 94 points
Mundus Vini 2018: Gold Medal
James Suckling 2018: 92 points
Guide to Catalonia wines 2019: 94 points