Terroir Al Limit Historic Priorat 2018
Red Blends | Spain
An extraordinary Spanish red wine, scoring 93 points and delightfully priced under $25 per bottle, this Priorat from Terroir al Límit has us in awe with its layered complexity and purity of spirit. With an old-school Burgundian style of winemaking, this producer takes old vine, high-elevation grapes to craft truly exceptional and unique wines that stand out from the typically more powerful and robust blends from the Priorat appellation. Terroir al Límit, a producer who’s been forging its own style and collecting piles of high scores from critics along the way over the past decade or two, is one we’ve been solidly keeping our eye on – and our glasses tipped toward for more. Today’s offer is no exception: a bright, beautifully fruit-forward grenache-carignan blend with a mineral finish that’s seriously pretty all around…and for under $25, a crusher in more ways than one!
In this Històric blend, winemaking savant Dominik Huber has collected garnacha and carignan grapes from 9 villages that span 350–800 meters of elevation, with vines anywhere between 35-50 years old. He partnered with Eben Sadie, a renowned South African winemaker under his Sadie Family label, to serve up their Terroir al Límit portfolio of incredible wines that are transforming the understanding of what a Priorat wine “should” be. With a strict focus on carignan and garnacha – without the bolder influence of syrah or cabernet, which are often typically blended into the wines of this area – Dominik has relied on the remote, high-altitude landscapes of Torroja del Priorat and the grapes able to grow there to produce carefully layered, soft, and bright wines that continue to impress.
The 2018 Històric is made of 75% garnacha (grenache) and 25% carignan, producing a crisp yet red-berry-filled wine, with notes of floral hibiscus and pomegranate seeds intensifying the brightness as flavors of Herbs de Provence and roasted fennel bring in a savory finish. In contrast to many of the heavier, brasher Priorats in distribution today, it has a lightness that’s still powerful and complex in an intricate way. For UNDER $25 and sitting at a sweet 93 points, this is an impressive Spanish red wine from a producer who’s gaining traction in the Spanish – and global – wine world. You do not want to miss out on this one, and they’ll continue to go fast!
“The goal at Terroir al Límit is to produce wines of infusion rather than extraction, thereby emphasizing elegance, rather than the typical heaviness of Priorat wines.”
About the Producer
When Eben Sadie and Dominik Huber first met in 2001 at Mas Martinet, Eben was a promising and highly-regarded young enologist from South Africa and Dominik, German by birth, was a wine enthusiast with a background in business administration and an interest in the culinary arts. In short order they became fast friends. With the help of the Perez family of Mas Martinet, Eben and Dominik purchased some fruit and leased a little corner in the cellar of Cims de Porrera where they vinified their first vintage of Dits del Terra in 2001. After two years at Cims de Porrera they moved into a tiny cellar in Torroja del Priorat. The move coincided with the first vintage of Arbossar in 2003. In the following years they released additional cuvees: Torroja in 2005, Manyes and Tosses in 2006, Pedra de Guix in 2008 and Terra de Cuques in 2011. Throughout the decade since its founding, Terroir al Limit has evolved in its understanding of the Priorat - coming to view it as a region similar to Burgundy in its complexity and potential to produce elegant and transparent wines.
- Blend75 % Red Grenache 25 % Cariñena
- WinemakerDominik Huber
- CountrySpain
- RegionCatalonia
- AppellationPriorat
- SoilSlate, Clay, Granite, Alluvial
- Aging/Cooperage8 months in cement tank
- Alcohol14%
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