I had a hunch

Discover the power and potential of Priorat, with Marc Ripoll

We sure do love our Spanish reds, don’t we? I recently learned that the Irish are the world's fifth-highest per capita guzzlers of Rioja.

And as much as I do my best to keep that stat alive, sometimes it pays to look outside the big-name regions.

Finding these gems is absolutely one of the best bits of my job.

Discover Priorat - a magical place you should know more about

Before launching this business, I had a strong hunch that the big reds of Priorat would go down a storm.

It’s a wild, rugged and hot region, two hours south of Barcelona, right on the Mediterranean sea. 

It’s also home to L'Ermita, one of Spain’s most expensive wines.

Everything tastes amazingly intense here… whether it’s grapes for wine, herbs for gin, or olives for olive oil.

An unlikely hero

And when it comes to the vineyards, its secret weapon is its llicorella soils. That’s slate to you and me. 

Vines grown on slate produce a punchy acidity in the grapes. When you taste the wines young, it’s like licking a stone (I don’t recommend this). 

However when the reds gain a bit of age, the results are spectacular! 

The acidity mellows out, the fruit stays intense, and the wines end up incredibly drinkable and balanced.

To find the best undiscovered Priorat producer, I called up a friend in the know 

I have a great contact in Barcelona, called Ferran Centelles. For 12 years he was head sommelier at the infamous El Bulli restaurant, until it closed in 2011.

These days Ferran is a highly respected wine writer, amongst many other things. There probably isn’t a more influential palate in Spain.

When Ferran gives you a tip-off, you act

When I asked him who I should work with in Priorat, Marc Ripoll was top of his list. 

Marc is Priorat born and bred, and a fierce defender of the old winemaking traditions that are disappearing these days, in favour of more international, commercial styles that fetch silly prices.

These are authentic, hand-crafted wines, made by a tiny producer and named after his kids. What’s not to love?!

The wines have just arrived

Here's what's just come in:

• Cal Batllet D’Iatra Priorat 2019 - an explosive blend of Carignan, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, but still so smooth and approachable. At €22.86 for members, trust me, this is a lot of wine for the price!
• Cal Batllet Gratallops 5 Partides 2018 - Priorat is probably the greatest place on earth for Carignan, and this is a 100% Carignan from Marc’s grandfather’s 100+ year old vines. Decanter magazine declared a previous vintage the second best Carignan in Spain.
  

With Easter around the corner, and gatherings and big feasts to come, these wines couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

And they contain the most important and precious ingredient needed to make Priorat really sing - time.