2016 Black Slate "Porrera" Priorat

The village red 2016 Black Slate Porrera is a blend of 50% Garnacha, 40% Cariñena and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from a balanced year. It fermented in stainless steel and concrete vats with selected yeasts and matured in 225- and 300-liter oak barrels for 12 months. The nose is somewhat reminiscent of a classical Cornas—meaty and a bit wild, with a strong granite-like sensation (even if the soil is slate and so is the name of the wine!). It's a big wine but has the kind of freshness you can get with the low pH in Priorat if you don't over-ripen, over-extract and over-oak... So, it can be done, as you can see here. 35,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2018. (LG)

The educator in me loves these Black Slate wines. The nerd in me loves these wines. The hedonist in me loves these wines. Priorat that smells and tastes like this, how can you not? This aromatic red has sappy dark red fruits and berries jump out of the glass. They are backed by earth and spice and a fine herbal note. There is a sun drenched afternoon scrambling on a scrubby rocky mountainside quality to the nose. The wine explodes on the palate. It is a big impact wine; it plays broad and round but not heavy. There is also a liveliness to it, it is not content to just sit on your palate. The acid helps focus the finish and really brings out the llicorella earthy minerality. This is where the nerd come in. The llicorella or slate soils located around Porrera are some of the oldest soils in the region. The eastern location of the village brings cooling mediterrean breezes. This is where the Vi de Vila system comes in. Let’s dig down into the nitty gritty of this region, why are the villages different, why are certain varietals planted where they are. This series of wines is a crash course in one of the great wine regions of the world and it is affordable The educator, nerd and enthusiast are all happy with this wine..