2017 L'Ermita

There's even more Cariñena in this warm vintage, and the varietal breakdown of the 2017 L'Ermita comes to a majority of Garnacha, but with a respectable 20% Cariñena and about 2% white grapes. It was fermented with indigenous yeasts in oak barrels and aged for 16 months in oak barrels of varying sizes. The grapes were harvested on October 18, which is extremely late considering 2017 was their earliest harvest ever! It has a surprisingly high Cariñena content, the highest L'Ermita has ever had, and yet the wine feels like the essence of a Mediterranean Garnacha - floral, expressive, open, allusive, refined and elegant. It has great depth and refined tannins and feels light on its feet, yet it is full of inner power, intense and persistent. It is detailed, nuanced, clean, transparent, focused and pure. The flavors are very precise and clean and the aftertaste is extremely long. A truly great L'Ermita that once again exceeds the conditions of the vintage. They got 15.2 hectoliters per hectare. 2,900 bottles were bottled in May 2019. This will be the first wine to carry the new Priorat classification Gran Viña Clasificada, the equivalent of a Grand Cru in Burgundy.

Grape variety: Grenache

Wine Advocate (Robert Parker): 98/100
James Suckling: 99/100

Alcohol content: 14.5% vol.
Allergen information: Contains sulphites

Bottler, importer: Alvaro Palacios S.L. RE 7431T, NRS 30.05934/T, Lote 60019 43737 Gratallops Spain