This special bottling of 2017 Mont+ is from the oldest producer in our favorite Priorat village, La Vilella Alta (the source of our favorite Black Slate Priorats, but this is at a higher level if not price).
The + in Mont+ is absolutely dead on. These are mountain vineyards to the extreme: extremely steep, over 2000 feet and with the kind of pitifully poor soil that yields almost nothing. But what little they do yield is both spectacularly concentrated – and for the Priorat unusually refined.
As much as I love the Mas Alta Black Slate from this village, this is a far more refined and complex expression of the top Priorat village. It’s 65% Grenache, 25% Carignan and 10% Syrah – organically farmed, hand-picked, destemmed and sorted, wild yeast fermented and (a key here) basket pressed like the greatest old school Barossa Shirazes. (Think Rockford.)
Best of all, it’s raised entirely in neutral oak so the pure, rich flavors and unique mountain terroir really shine.
