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

Description

Product description for Terroir al Limit Les Tosses 2017

Info

Les Tosses is just as much a “Vi d’altura” as Les Manyes. The Carignan vines are located at an altitude of 650 meters. The subsoil is the black slate typical of the Priorat region – also known as “licorella.” Today, the wine is aged for only three months in Stockinger foudres, so wood plays a very minor role.

Colour

Dark purple with light highlights.

Nose

The first nose of this Carignan from Dominik Huber also reveals fleeting memories of mature Amontillado from Jerez. The Carignan here, too, is wild and racy. Never intrusive, but reserved and subtle. The reduction has a flattering effect on me. A wine that is second to none. Greengage, ripe plums, and a hint of cinnamon are noticeable. Mediterranean notes such as black olive, thyme, and pine are also present.

Palate

Juicy and cool. Pure slate. Carignan in a positively rustic form. Very delicate on the palate. Black olive, plum, and thyme come through again in the finish. What fascinates me most is this restraint, this unexcitedness. A quiet connoisseur. Les Tosses isn’t loud, but when it speaks, it carries weight. Dominik Huber and his team have mastered the art of crafting distinctive, great wines from these old vines in the Priorat. In the Michelin Guide, a distinctive signature is an indicator on the way to three stars. Huber has impressively demonstrated this criterion in recent years. No wonder, then, that the major wine critics have been vying for the top rating for years. We’ll see what the 2017 vintage brings. For me, this is the benchmark when it comes to Carignan.

Copyright Vinaturel 2025

Keywords: Terroir al Limit Les Tosses 2017 Priorat Spain

Wine Advocate

Score: 97

The top Cariñena 2017 Les Tosses is a little riper than the 2018 I tasted next to it, but it also has a little more acidity and freshness and comes through as equally balanced. This south-facing vineyard was planted 90 years ago on black slate soils, and its orientations makes the grapes ripen thoroughly and achieve full flavors. Seventy percent of the volume still matured in oak foudres, but this percentage is going to go down to 50% in 2018; eventually, the wine will be aged exclusively in concrete, as is the case with all of their wines. This is expressive and tasty, and it has elegance and freshness within its serious profile. It’s very balanced and has a mixture of floral, red and black fruit with some graphite quality and a Mediterranean touch of herbs, even esparto grass. 2,800 bottles were filled in October 2019.
Luis Gutiérrez

Vinous

Score: 96

Vivid ruby-red. Expressive, mineral-accented red and dark berry preserve, incense and exotic spice aromas are complemented by suggestions of licorice, cola and candied violet. Seamless and penetrating in the mouth, showing superb definition to the sweet black raspberry, cherry cola, blueberry, spicecake and floral pastille flavors. The mineral quality resonates emphatically on the gently tannic, strikingly long, penetrating finish, which shows outstanding energy and floral lift.
— Josh Raynolds
Drinking window: 2024 – 2035
Review date: Mar 2021

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