Wine of the Week: 2006 Masperla Priorat

Well, well another Wine Wednesday and making a splash in the pool as the Wine of the Week is the 2006 Masperla Priorat. A delightful Grenache-based blend, which most likely had a little Cariñena [Carignan] playing bass in the background. I say that because it's naturally high in acidity, tannins and plays well Grenache. I picked this little Misa-Imports gem up the other day from my local Costco here in San Diego. The buyer here constantly seems to come up with the occasional Spanish wines which I just can't pass up. 

These wines are produced from vines which grow on a mostly slate soils, stretched out over rough rocky terraced vineyards which are very hard to work [hence many of the hefty price tags], but produce some of the very best wines from one of Spain's smallest; but one its most important in terms of quality and concentration of unique flavors. In the course of writing this quick review, I came across a couple of great websites.

If you'd like to get a quick glimpse of this regions typography, check-out these images of the region. They give you a good idea of what it's like to grow grapes in Priorat. There's also another site called Vinopedia which gives a succinct bio on many wine regions around the world, including the Priorat D.O.C.

Frankly, I've not had a single bad wine from this region and when I can find these wines for under twenty dollars I scoop up as many as my wallet can afford, in a somewhat veiled attempt of keeping Mrs. Cuvee from knowing I've once more scored some vino to add to our already overflowing stash at Chez Vino.

In the glass a very dark ruby colored, after uncorking the bottle, swishing and swirling in the glass, my nose is immediately greeted by rich blackberry, dark ripe cherries, a pinch of rich black licorice. Now that the coming attraction is over; it's time for the initial splash-down on the old palate. Whoa, this is a whole lot of well structured, tasty wine that will pair nicely with just about anything off the grill. Like a dump-trucks unburdening its load, out bounce plump blackberry, dark plum, rich mocha and some dusty minerality in the background. This wine is dressed to impress and is ready to rock soon as its uncorked, but putting this wine in the cellar for a year or two would be a smart move.

I was quite excited to find a wine with a truly expansive range of flavors, one which shows off nicely in the strong finish, with just a subtle touch of sweetness and zero rough edges. Imagine my surprise that the review of this by Wine Speculator [who gave it 92 points] actually matched what was in the bottle, proving that do get it right sometimes. Btw, I paid just under $20 for this wine, but it would appear the inventory is pretty limited, so you may just wanna hurry to get your own bottle or not, it leaves more for me [ha]. Until next time sip long and prosper cheers!