Les Crestes

A visit to Priorat in Spain’s northeast should be on every wine lover’s bucket list. Spectacular scenery, wonderful food, great hospitality and truly extraordinary wines. One also feels as though one has stepped back in time to what Spain just might have been decades ago. The reds are Grenache dominant and packed full of an intriguing combination of power and elegance, while never losing flavour. This youthful example is 80% Grenache with 10% each of Syrah and Carignan. Maturation is for six months in a mix of oak foudres, previously used barriques and concrete eggs. Production is 50,000 bottles. Under cork. Blood red in colour, the nose reveals notes of red fruits, milk chocolate, undergrowth, raspberries, dried herbs, beef stock and aniseed. A wine of good length and direction with satiny though abundant tannins. A lovely juiciness, call it freshness or energy if you prefer, is evident at all stages. Enjoy this now and over the next six years.

Deep violet in the glass, this wine has a bouquet of purple plum, mocha and clove. Pleasant acidity and silky tannins back up flavors of black and red berries, licorice, eucalyptus and sage leaf. The lengthy finish is marked with a note of butterscotch.