Cims de Porrera Classic 2000 Priorat

Priorat is an anomaly; both new and old, traditional and cutting edge. Located in a ring of mountains just south of Barcelona, the landscape is both breathtaking and austere. Its broken schist soils, ranged on precipitous slopes, are a testament to the most hardy of farmers. In 1996, following his work at Mas Martinet, Jose Luiz Perez decided to rent the facilities of the abandoned co-operative of the town of Porrera, and create Cims, meaning 'summits', to celebrate the ancient local carinena vines. He worked with the local grape growers to identify the best and oldest plots, and enlisted his son Adria to create the wine. Now the growers are contracted to sell their total production to the project, and have started planting the hillsides again. It is a remarkable story of the regeneration of a town and its wine culture. This beautifully mature bottle is a monument to their efforts with its aromas of leather and tea, eucalyptus, bay and dried herbs, offset by grainy blackberry fruit, a lush and ample palate and a bold finish of liquorice and mint.