Terroir al Limit | Priorat | Arbossar | 2017 | 750ml

Description

Product description for Terroir al Limit Arbossar 2017

Info

Since its founding, the winery has been in constant flux. For several years now, Dominik Huber has pursued the vision of working entirely without wood in the cellar. This will bring more finesse to the hot, dry Priorat and dress the already warm, powerful wines with more freshness and finesse. The DO already stipulates an alcohol content of 13.5% vol. for a wine with a designation of origin. In 2017, the Carignan from the Arbossar vineyard is 100% from cement tanks. Huber also follows the credo of “infusion instead of extraction,” thus aiming to counteract the further release of color, extract, tannin, and intensity. The grapes come from 108-year-old vines and, after an early but physiologically ripe harvest, undergo whole-bunch pressing. Huber learned “Grappes entieres” in earlier years during his time with Tom Lubbe of Matassa and adopted it for himself. Oxidation is not really desired in the basket press. Fermentation lasts approximately 10 days before the wine is pressed with little pressure. Dominik Huber has a “strong vision of what Priorat should taste like.” He and his team are always among the very first to harvest there, a fact for which they were long ridiculed. However, today’s success speaks for them and the path they have chosen.

Color

Dark cherry red, bright reflections

Nose

The nose, surprisingly, reminds me of great Amontillado sherry based on Palomino Fino with decent ripeness. Licorice and violets, but also plenty of cassis and sour cherries. Unripe almonds and rosemary also emerge. The longer you look at it, the greener tones emerge. I don’t perceive green as unripe, but rather as vegetal. The same applies to worn rubber, as one hears from car tires (and I really like that tone in Mediterranean wines!!). Far too light for a textbook Priorat. And the longer I sniff, the more I detect Reinclaude and sloe in the glass.

Palate

From the very first sip, this elegance captivates you. Is this really Priorat? The wine suddenly appears brightly fruity and cool. The Mediterranean nose is clearly confirmed. It seems refined at first, supported by a fine fruitiness. A present acidity structure makes the Carignan seem delicate and endless. Roasted Pimentos de Padron also suddenly emerge. And I also detect the characteristic note of an Amontillado here. At first, you’d hardly believe this finesse. The wine undoubtedly warms the palate, but is always enveloped in a cool, silky robe. The absolute purist: pure Carignan, pure Mediterranean. The finish seems never-ending. This bright, clear note practically nails itself in. 2-3°C below normal temperatures work wonders here. So please serve at 14°C rather than 18°C.

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Keywords: Terroir al Limit Arbossar 2017 Priorat Spain

Wine Advocate

Score: 94

As I hadn’t tasted the wines from Priorat since August 2019, I had two vintages of some wines to taste side by side, and that was the case with the pure Cariñena 2017 Arbossar, which I tasted together with the 2018. It’s from a vineyard planted in 1910 on a north-facing slope at 400 meters in altitude on classical llicorella slate and granite soils in the village of Torroja del Priorat that is worked biodynamically and is in the process of being certified organic. This is the first vintage to be fermented and matured exclusively in concrete, trying to achieve the soil and climate of the year more faithfully. The wine surprised me with its orange color and its very open nose, showing notes of brick dust and aromatic herbs. The palate has developed flavors and is tasty, with some grainy tannins. It seems like this vintage is now fully ripe and developed. 5,200 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2019.
Luis Gutiérrez

Vinous

Score: 95

Brilliant ruby. Intensely perfumed, mineral-driven cherry and boysenberry scents show excellent clarity and pick up exotic spice and potpourri nuances with air. Shows very good energy and powerful thrust on the palate, offering concentrated and appealingly sweet red and blue fruit, floral pastille and spicecake flavors that deepen with air. Closes with strong tenacity, gentle tannic grip and resonating floral and spice notes. Sourced from 90-plus-year-old vines, all whole clusters and raised in concrete.
— Josh Raynolds
Drinking window: 2024 – 2034
Review date: Mar 2021

Producer website: https://terroir-al-limit.com/