One of my favorite memories of visiting Priorat with my Wine School students was our time at Celler Vall Lach. A stone –a triangle of iron-shaded black rock– from one of their vineyards still sits on my office desk at the school. We spent an entire morning at the winery, the oldest building in the ancient town of Porrera. 2006 was still in the barrel at the time, and it was amazing even back then.
The wine is sourced from the village’s vineyards, mostly century-old Cariñena. It is then aged 14 months in new French oak barrels. This is serious stuff and will be best if cellared for 5 years. It will drink well for at least the next two decades.
This wine is a steep wall right now, a bit overwhelming for most palates. I would strongly recommend decanting for 6 hours before tasting. Dense and enveloping with a deep layer of burnt clay and black fruit. Underneath, the tart acidity pushes into the deep purple flavors of quince and burnt rosemary—the tannins layout flavors of mineral and dark chocolate. The alcohol brings it into a voluptuous wholesomeness that pulls in more caramel and ripe fruit. This is an excellent bottle—World class.
Oh Keith, you tempt me again with your reviews, my mouth is watering. The Vall Llach Priorat 2006 sounds like a perfect wine; quince and dark chocolate should make its texture very rich, I can’t wait to try it. Last summer I visited Spain but I didn’t have enough time to visit some of their best wineries, which is a shame.
Spain is an amazing place. This bottle is well worth drinking, and it’s at it’s peak right now. I’ll be opening up another bottle myself once it gets a little cooler out. Perfect with short ribs.