Think Black - A Grenache Blend from Priorat

Clos Mogador Gratallops 2019 from Priorat DOQ

The cooler weather has given me the desire to drink some deeper and fuller red wines.  A wine that I have had tucked away for several months and bought on the recommendation of a Spanish wine specialist was the Clos Mogador Gratallops 2019 from Priorat DOQ.  I love the velvety Grenaches from Priorat and was happy to purchase a bottle of his recommendation.

The first sniff reminded me instantly of graphite – very intense and almost having a black shoe polish aroma but not quite …. and then the black plum and prunes came through.  This told me instantly that it was not a 100% Grenache but a blend.

When I tasted this wine, the words dark, inky and black came to mind.  It screamed to me that there was a large dollop of Cariñeno to give it its darkness and structure.   Other flavours of black raspberry, blackberry, tar, molasses, black pepper, nutmeg, a touch of dried herbs, balsamic vinegar and coffee came through, all with a velvet wrapper.  An incredibly complex but well integrated, smooth, intense and concentrated wine.

Intrigued, I later looked up the grape varieties in this wine. It had 49% Grenache, 21% Cariñeno. 16% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, which tallied with what I was tasting.

This is a big wine that either needs to be paired with something robust like a charred beef steak or a beef and bean casserole, or drunk on its own as it could easily overwhelm most food.  If you had to describe this wine in one word, it would be “black”.

Rating: Bloody Delish       Price: 130 AUD