Terroir Al Limit: Extraordinary Priorat Wines
2/7/12 -
It has been said many times that Priorat is an extraordinary terroir. You may have heard of the brown schist soils the locals call Llicorella, the steep terrain, and the intense Mediterranean sun that hastily nurtures the low yielding old Garnacha and Carinyena vines. Look back to the 12th century when the Carthusian monastery of Scala Dei first planted vines here and then fast forward to Rene Barbier who landed here in 1979 and revived many of the vineyards in this struggling region. This strikingly meditative terroir has made a great impression on many visitors to Priorat, an impression strong enough – in some cases – to make them drop everything and relocate. Dominik Huber, a chef turned vigneron from Germany, falls into this category. Dominik arrived here in 1996 and met South African winemaker Eben Sadie in 2000. Together with a third partner, the local vigneron Jaume Sabate, they started Terroir Al Limit with the goal of making wine from high elevation and predominantly north facing plots of Carinyena located around the town of Torroja, for them an idyllic terroir for this often under-appreciated grape variety.
It takes quite a drive up steep winding roads to get to see what's maybe most compelling about this project - the vineyard work. No chemicals are used in the vineyard, bio-dynamic preparations are utilized, and they are one of the only producers in Priorat to plough, and not only to plough but to plough by horse. In the winery, they let the old vine material and stellar vineyard work speak for itself with careful handling of grapes and minimal intervention - no pre-fermentation SO2 is used; the grapes, still in whole clusters, are stomped down twice a week by foot; all fermentations are done with wild yeast, and aging takes place in foudre and large neutral oak barrels. 2007 was their last vintage using barriques. Their primary goal is to bring out the pretty and elegant nuances of Torroja Carinyena. Dominik Huber once told me, “we do not extract; we infuse.” Another memorable quote, translated from Spanish: “if the wines smells of herbs of Priorat, we have done a good job. If you smell oak, we have done nothing.” I concur. Along with a beautiful lift of garrigue, you will find a core of irony minerality with pronounced acidity and notes of black cherry and anise. By emphasizing finesse over power, they have achieved both. These are quite simply unlike any Priorat wines I have ever tasted and, as far as I know, there are no others like them. They must be tasted to be believed! -Chris
