2015 La Coma d’en Romeu

The range is growing with the addition of the 2015 Nit de Nin La Coma d’en Romeu, pure Garnacha from 1.5 hectares of old vines planted 72 years ago two kilometers from Porrera. They took away all the raisins and overripe individual berries and fermented the rest in an oak vat with indigenous yeasts—a constant here—and then transferred the wine to 225-, 300- and 600-liter oak barrels for 18 months. This was the revelation of my tasting in Priorat, as the wine was so perfumed and floral. This is an early-ripening vineyard where grapes can get very ripe, so they have to harvest it early and work with a lot of precision. The 2015 wine is fresh and precise. They know the vineyard quite well because they have worked it for years and have used the grapes for different things, but they finally managed to buy the vineyard, and in 2015, I think they harvested it the exact day the grapes were ripe and fresh. This is the first year they were happy enough with the wine to release it. It's the essence of the Mediterranean, with tons of rosemary, thyme, lavender, wild flowers and fine minerality. This is stunning, simply amazing. In fact, the Mas d'en Caçador suffers in comparison... 1,594 bottles were filled in April 2017.