PRIORAT WINE TOUR
Barcelona → Priorat → Barcelona
☾ 2 Nights
TRIP OVERVIEW
The Priorat wine region is not resting on its laurels. It has moved decidedly towards fresh wines that channel terroir, lower alcohol and a winemaker’s vision. Sometimes you’ll see biodynamic or organic wines; other times single vineyards and named plots appear. You will be firmly placed in today’s Priorat, a far cry from the powerhouse days of earlier years.
PRIORAT WINE TOUR
Day 1 – Priorat Mountain Wines
Leave the city far behind and head into the Priorat, where steep vineyards of old-vine Garnacha and Cariñena make some of Catalonia’s finest wines. Start at Terroir al Limit, an innovative winery making fresh and ethereal Garnacha wines. These wines, low in alcohol and oak, have shown a new direction for Priorat and garnered critical acclaim in the process.
Afterwards, head to legendary Vall Llach in the old-vine capital Porrera for a tasting at. Just across the street, it’s time for lunch at La Cooperativa. Expect classic Priorat dishes with plenty of produce from the owners’ garden and an especially well-stocked wine cellar.
After lunch, it’s time to head to your bolthole. Mas d’en Bruno is a sprawling estate converted into a luxurious hotel in the scenic hills of Priorat’s remote center. Relax, perhaps on the poolside terrace with vineyards views, before dinner at the on-site restaurant Vinum.
Day 2 – The Heart of Priorat
Well-rested, it’s time to taste in the heart of Priorat. At biodynamic winery Mas d’en Gil, learn about the vines of western Priorat and taste a Burgundy-style hierarchy of white and red Priorat wines. Then, it’s time to visit one of the wineries that brought Priorat global fame in the 1990s: Mas Martinet. In recent years Mas Martinet has embraced winemaking with less oak and careful organic practices. The resulting wines are fresh, expressive, pure and very appealing. You’ll get to see the hilltop vineyards of Clos Martinet before an in-depth tasting.
For lunch you’ll head to Clos Figueras in Gratallops, ground zero for classic Priorat wine. Sit down in the garden restaurant for home-cooked dishes paired the benchmark Clos Figueras wines. After lunch, head to mountainside Escaladei, where monastic winemaking in the Priorat began. Today the mountain vineyards of Cellers Scala Dei make exceptional Garnacha-based wines. Back at your hotel, pop down to Bruno’s bar for light tapas and wine or, if you’ve had your fill, a cocktail.
Day 3 – Departure
Private transfer to the Barcelona airport for departure.
WHERE YOU’LL STAY
Mas d’en Bruno
Occupying a historic farmhouse in the countryside outside the village of Torroja, Mas d’en Bruno is a full-service luxury addition to Priorat’s hotel landscape. This Relais & Chateaux hotel has everything you need for an enjoyable stay in the Priorat. The rooms are new but maintain the building’s character. You’ll find a fine-dining restaurant, a cocktail bar, and a wine bar with a very complete selection of Priorat and other wines. This is a great place to taste the rare wines of Clos de l’Obac, as the family had a hand in the project. The spa and swimming pool are great places to recuperate while touring the Priorat. The hotel, surrounded by stunning landscapes, is a perfect base for Priorat exploration.
WHERE YOU’LL GO
PRIORAT WINE REGION
Priorat is the star of Cataluña’s wine lineup. Since a few brave winemakers recuperated old vines here in the 1970s, Priorat’s quality has exploded, along with its reputation. The terrain is dramatic: mountains topped with stone look down on vine-covered terraces and villages built in seemingly impossible spots. This is not an easy place to make wine. You’ll find many small wineries here growing vines on tiny plots, often using organic and biodynamic techniques. This and other innovations have helped Priorat’s trajectory continue upward. There are new regulations based on soil and climate studies with characteristic Catalan precision. International grape varieties have happily been pushed into the back seat by local Garnacha and Cariñena. Producers new and old have sought to make lighter, fresher wines that don’t need years to calm down. The result? Priorat is here to stay as one of the best wine regions in the world.
THE WINES OF PRIORAT
The modern history of Priorat can be said to begin with the release of the 1989 vintage from the five founding producers who went to this region in search of wine greatness. What they found were old vines of Garnacha and Cariñena planted on slate soils. Most early Priorat producers added in some international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. New French oak was preferred. Everything came together to produce very powerful wines with enough elegance that critics took notice, awarding points and cementing the reputation of the region.
Today’s Priorats are not the same as they were in the 1980s. International grapes have become less attractive, with many producers reducing or removing them entirely. Cariñena has gone from an afterthought to a key for many producers: some of Priorat’s top wines today are 100% Cariñena. New oak was reduced, larger format barrels came into use, and grapes were picked earlier. All of this means that today’s Priorats are more accessible, fresher, and can often be appreciated in their youth when in the past it might have been mandatory to wait five years or more before considering opening a top bottle. Cariñena has also helped keep alcohol levels down in a region where summer can get very hot and where Garnacha can easily exceed 15%.
New regulations have been put in place, more closely following a Burgundian model than any region in Spain. There are village wines and three tiers of single-vineyard wines, with the top two loosely equivalent to Premier Cru and Grand Cru. Based on historical records and soil studies, the Priorat was divided into twelve villages and hundreds of named vineyard zones. Producers can apply to have their individual vineyards classified to use single vineyard labelling. The new rules ensure that grapes come from a single village, vineyard area, or vineyard. Each increase in classification carries with it other restrictions including limited yields, minimum vine age, and minimum percentages of local grapes. Priorat has also begun to regulate the term old vines (vinyes velles) so that any wines using it come from certified old vine plots that are at least 75 years old. These new regulations constitute the most advanced attempt in Spain to create a Burgundy-inspired hierarchy of quality.
Priorat produces almost exclusively red wines, but Garnacha Blanca-based white Priorats have caused some stir. Nearby Terra Alta may be more famous for this grape, but in the Priorat they are making excellent savory wines that pair very well with food. In some cases there are quite old vines. Look out for whites made from other varieties such as Xarello, Macabeo, or even Pedro Ximénez.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
2 nights hotel, double occupancy, breakfast daily, expert private guides, private tours, premium tastings at wineries, restaurant concierge service and all reservations, private luxury transport
NOT INCLUDED
flights to/from Spain or Portugal, gratuities to guides and drivers, travel insurance (recommended)
EPICUREAN WAYS ADVANTAGE
We pride ourselves on our discerning taste in hotels, a concierge approach to restaurants for you, and our long experience in the world of wine enabling us to select wineries worth visiting and arrange premium tastings at each winery.
You will be accompanied by a driver-guide during your wine touring. Your visits and tastings will be private and with the winemaker, a family member or an expert who knows the winery and the wines well. We work with the wineries to make sure that you taste the best and most representative wines during each visit. It is sometimes possible to arrange extended tastings that include old vintages or rare wines. We have an extensive group of wineries whose owners we know and with whom we work regularly, so we can guarantee high-level visits even if a winery has to be substituted. If you have an interest in visiting a particular producer please let us know.
We include restaurant concierge service as part of your trip. Note that our restaurant suggestions are just that–suggestions. Places we love, places to go back to time after time. We recommend these places after years of experience eating in Spain and Portugal together with frequent research and input from our local partners. We aspire to guide your choices with information on the styles of cuisine and restaurants; the choice on where to eat is yours based on your preferences and desires.
We have extensive experience with hotels ranging from 5-star luxury properties to private boutique hotels. Let us know your preferences and we will tailor the hotel choices for you.
All tours, experiences and hotels are subject to availability and will be confirmed upon booking the trip.
TRIP PRICES
Note that we can customize this trip for you. Add days in your arrival or departure city or in other locations or make changes to the experiences, winery visits, restaurants, or hotels included in the trip. Whatever it is, we’re here to work with you. Once you’re happy with the trip plan and have some idea of your dates we will send you the price.