Costers del Priorat Priorat Petit Pissarres 2019

The typical priorat style of the last century, with often very heavy, jam-like flavours, is on the wane. An innovative group of winemakers is now opting for wines with more freshness, elegance and terroir expression. So is Josep Mas from the bodega Costers del Priorat. The grape blend for his Petit Pissares is 60% garnacha tinta (grenache) and 40% carignan (samso in Catalan).

The harvest is done manually on three different terrace vineyards, each with its own characteristic soil and sun exposure. The poor and dry soil contains a lot of shale. This leads to a low yield of 1.5 kilos per vine, resulting in small, flavoursome grapes.

Of course Josep Mas pays close attention to the right harvest time per plot. This is simply a lot easier for small companies than for large and less flexible producers, but it is crucial for the style and quality of the wine. Mas thus prevents overripeness and a log tasting wine with a plum jam aroma.

The wine ferments in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and matures for six months in large wooden casks and small barriques, preserving the tantalizing, ripe fruit. Josep Mas and his team are thus signing for a new generation of priorat, which, in addition to a ripe, soft taste, also has a delicious, spicy freshness.

Most appealing wine region
With its excellent weather conditions – lots of sun and little rainfall – Priorat is undoubtedly one of the most attractive wine regions in Spain. The vines are planted here in terraces on steep slopes. Because of this, almost all the work has to be done by hand.