Terroir al Limit | Priorat | Les Manyes | 2017 | 750ml

Description

Product description for Terroir al Limit Les Manyes 2017

Marian Henß:On the palate, it hits exactly the same note. The fruit is wonderfully intense on the palate. Red aromas in all their facets immediately fill the mouth and throat and continue to dominate the finish. Les Manyes 2018 is delicate and playful. The 14.5% alcohol by volume is wonderfully integrated. Now it reveals an ingenious linearity. It shoots out as straight as a candle. It has clear substance in the base, but presents itself as a great Pinot Noir. Profound as the night.

Info

The label for Les Manyes reads “Vi d’altura.” Translated from Catalan, this means “Wine from the Heights.” This single-varietal Grenache comes from a 1.5-hectare plot at the northern end of the Priorat at the foot of the Montsant mountain at an altitude of approximately 800 meters. There, the 70.75-year-old vines stand on a plateau of argile (loam and clay) and at first glance appear completely unspectacular. To be precise, it is a mutation called Garnacha Peluda, which has a slight fluff on the berries. Since the 2016 vintage, Dominik Huber has completely abandoned the use of wood for Les Manyes. This wine is vinified 100% in cement tanks. He himself says that this is the best wine Terroir al Limit has made to date.

Colour

Rich cherry red with light reflections.

Nose

Pure Mediterranean. Yet this vineyard is not even close by. Very tomatoey and dark on the nose. Rosemary and basil are also present. A dark, plummy note prevails. Almond trees in full bloom and a masculine tone like leather. Rose blossom and a hint of tangerine peel, bursting with acidity. I also find currants and a hint of sloe after swirling the glass. This single-varietal Grenache fills me with awe and excitement. Pure fascination.

Palate

Restlessly, I treat myself to the first glass. It opens up to me fleshy, almost bloody. A very present, fine-grained tannin paves the way and gives me hope for great things. This dark red, masculine impression is confirmed. The floral notes, sour cherry, and tangerine dominate, yet this masterpiece appears neither delicate nor powerful. The acid structure draws the wine out fantastically. We’re pretty close to perfection here. Perfection is probably a nicer word for this holistic balance and expression. An absolute monument. The aftertaste of this single-varietal Grenache is brightly fruity and clear. Above all, this makes me want to take many more sips of Les Manyes 2017. Simply a great wine. Not a real eye-opener, but profound like few others.

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Keywords: Terroir al Limit Les Manyes 2017 Priorat Spain

Wine Advocate

Score: 98

I tasted two vintages of the top Garnacha (Peluda), so next to the 2017 Les Manyes, I also had the 2018; it was great to see the differences in the wines, even if the analytical data showed pretty similar. This amazing vineyard at 800 meters in altitude on red clay and gypsum soils has more in common with some vineyards from Montsant than the majority of other vineyards from Priorat. In 2016, they started aging the wine 100% in concrete, and they have no intention of going back. This is quite austere and compact and has had a slow oxidation in concrete, and the wine feels quite stabilized and fresher than other 2017s but again perhaps not as deep as the 2018. It’s not a showy vintage; it’s quite subtle. It takes a long time to open up in the glass, and it’s clearly the freshest of the 2017s. 3,200 bottles were filled in June 2020 after a longer élevage, exclusively in concrete for this second bottling lot.
Luis Gutiérrez

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