Clos Mogador Gratallops Priorat 2021
The wine shows an opaque black-purple color and an intense, complex bouquet of ripe fruit, wild herbs, toasted bread, spices and smoke. The palate is massive and well balanced with a fat richness, a dense structure of velvety tannins and a powerful, lively acidity. Flavors of crystalized fruit, pepper, chocolate, coffee and a whole panoply of spices and herbs. On the long finish there are the unique mineral tones that make Priorat so special.
The flagship and eponymous 2019 Clos Mogador is nothing short of phenomenal. They have done a lot of improvements in the vineyard work since the arrival of Christian, son of René Barbier, who is big-time into regenerative agriculture. They are abandoning barrels and going for more and more foudres (they started the transition in 2011, and in 2020 it was 100% foudre). As I see in other wines from 2019, the wine has lots of everything, stuffing, power and concentration but also balance. This has to be one of the finest vintages ever for Mogador; it's a compact wine with lots of aging potential. 28,000 bottles produced. It was a year of good quality and quantity. Best after 2023. - 99pts Robert Parker