The Land of Wine & Stone
The Monsanto mountain range dominates the region with vineyards situated high above sea level in the valleys and on the slopes of the mountains. The landscape is rugged, characterised by dramatic rock faces, forests and small stone built villages.
15°c
Average annual temperature
500mm
Average annual rainfall
A Catalan can make bread from stones, but the man from Priorato makes wine.
A Catalan can make bread from stones, but the man from Priorato makes wine.
-
Cartus
- Regular price
- €120,00
- Sale price
- €120,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSuper prestige cuvee, made exclusively from 100 year old vines in the legendary Quisens and Carners vineyards. -
Gran Clos
- Regular price
- €59,00
- Sale price
- €59,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSignature cuvee from selected old vines in the Aubages, Quisens and Carners vineyards -
Finca El Puig
- Regular price
- €34,00
- Sale price
- €34,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outMedium bodied single estate cuvee from the Finca El Puig vineyards.
-
365 Rose
- Regular price
- €24,00
- Sale price
- €24,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outPrestige single-vineyard rosé. Cold-fermented and painstakingly crafted to enjoy the whole year round.
-
Cartus
- Regular price
- €120,00
- Sale price
- €120,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSuper prestige cuvee, made exclusively from 100 year old vines in the legendary Quisens and Carners vineyards. -
Gran Clos
- Regular price
- €59,00
- Sale price
- €59,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSignature cuvee from selected old vines in the Aubages, Quisens and Carners vineyards -
Finca El Puig
- Regular price
- €34,00
- Sale price
- €34,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outMedium bodied single estate cuvee from the Finca El Puig vineyards.
-
365 Rose
- Regular price
- €24,00
- Sale price
- €24,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outPrestige single-vineyard rosé. Cold-fermented and painstakingly crafted to enjoy the whole year round.
Origins
The Phoenicians - or their successors the Romans - introduced
the vine to this area, and by the time Imperial Rome had reached
its zenith, wines from Priorat were being praised by Roman poets
and historians, including Martial, Pliny and Virgil.
When the Romans withdrew in the 4th century
viniculture was first disrupted by the Visigoths then banned by
the Moors. It was not until the Christian reconquest in the 12th
century that the population of the region began to recover and
grapes were cultivated once again.
Ladder of God
The present beauty of the villages of Priorat—and the excellence
of their wines—can be traced to the dream of a pious shepherd in
the 12th century AD, who had a vision one night of a ladder
reaching towards heaven, on which angels were busy ascending and
descending. This important event reached the ears of King
Alfonso the Chaste, and a Carthusian monastery was established
on the spot, which was named Escala Dei (the ladder of God) in
honour of the shepherd's dream.
The monastery
flourished and took over the administration of the surrounding
villages, including Bellmunt (beautiful mountain), which came
under its sway in 1218. The grape was re-introduced so the monks
could celebrate the sacrament, and the villages were graced with
ecclesiastical buildings in styles ranging from Gothic to
Renaissance.
-
Cartus
- Regular price
- €120,00
- Sale price
- €120,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSuper prestige cuvee, made exclusively from 100 year old vines in the legendary Quisens and Carners vineyards. -
Gran Clos
- Regular price
- €59,00
- Sale price
- €59,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSignature cuvee from selected old vines in the Aubages, Quisens and Carners vineyards -
Finca El Puig
- Regular price
- €34,00
- Sale price
- €34,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outMedium bodied single estate cuvee from the Finca El Puig vineyards.
-
365 Rose
- Regular price
- €24,00
- Sale price
- €24,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outPrestige single-vineyard rosé. Cold-fermented and painstakingly crafted to enjoy the whole year round.
-
Cartus
- Regular price
- €120,00
- Sale price
- €120,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSuper prestige cuvee, made exclusively from 100 year old vines in the legendary Quisens and Carners vineyards. -
Gran Clos
- Regular price
- €59,00
- Sale price
- €59,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSignature cuvee from selected old vines in the Aubages, Quisens and Carners vineyards -
Finca El Puig
- Regular price
- €34,00
- Sale price
- €34,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outMedium bodied single estate cuvee from the Finca El Puig vineyards.
-
365 Rose
- Regular price
- €24,00
- Sale price
- €24,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outPrestige single-vineyard rosé. Cold-fermented and painstakingly crafted to enjoy the whole year round.
Local sites
Travellers may wish to begin their visit to the region in the
town of La Morera, the site of the shepherd's vision, and the
picturesque ruins of the abbey of La Cartoixa, built in 1164 in
its honour. La Morera is pretty and self-possessed, and houses
many of the cellars where the wines of Priorat are matured.
The
mountain of Montsant forms a spectacular backdrop to the town;
it is reputed to be inhabited by angels who keep watch over the
villages and vines beneath.
The village of Siurana,
nestling on the edge of a cliff a short distance from La Morera,
is the site of several legends: A ruined castle, which is said
to be haunted by the Moors; the dizzying precipice on which it
is perched is named the "The Leap of the Moor Queen" in honour
of a Moorish princess who defended the castle against the
Christian Knights and, rather than surrender, blindfolded her
horse and rode it into the void.
Siurana is
surrounded by bare mountains, and seems to float in the clear
blue air.
Castells
Catalunya is said to be responsible for the invention of the
cork, and for packaging wine in bottles, but the town of Valls,
thirty miles to the east of Priorat, is famed as the birthplace
of "castells." Castells are complex human pyramids that are
constructed every year in Valls and other towns nearby as part
of their fiestas, and are fascinating examples of tradition,
co-operation and futility. They consist of up to nine levels of
people standing on one another’s shoulders and heads, and are
assembled in time to the music of gralles, which resemble
clarinets.
The bases of the pyramids are surrounded
by a close press of hundreds of cheering people, and they are
topped by an anxanet—a young boy who waves a Catalan flag.
Castell building takes place in Valls, El Vendrell, and
Vilafranca throughout the summer, and there are competitions
held for the most artistic tower of bodies in Tarragona, the
principal city of the region, to which travellers are advised to
pay a visit once they have been refreshed by the pure air and
dramatic landscapes of Priorat.
Tarragona
Tarragona, on the Costa Dorada, was founded by the Romans and
contains many monuments to their presence.
Its old
quarter is partially surrounded by Roman walls, it is watered by
a Roman aqueduct, and contains the remains of a Roman
amphitheatre in which the first bishop of Tarragona, St.
Fructuos, was martyred in 257 AD. The archaeological museum of
the town contains a sculpture that will delight every oenophile:
a Praxitelean Bacchus depicting the old god of wine in all his
majesty.
Tarragona is also graced with a fine
selection of mediaeval buildings, and further examples of
Catalan modernism. These are best enjoyed by joining its Paseo,
the evening parade of the Tarragonese, who stroll its Ramblas,
to see and be seen.
-
Cartus
- Regular price
- €120,00
- Sale price
- €120,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSuper prestige cuvee, made exclusively from 100 year old vines in the legendary Quisens and Carners vineyards. -
Gran Clos
- Regular price
- €59,00
- Sale price
- €59,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSignature cuvee from selected old vines in the Aubages, Quisens and Carners vineyards -
Finca El Puig
- Regular price
- €34,00
- Sale price
- €34,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outMedium bodied single estate cuvee from the Finca El Puig vineyards.
-
365 Rose
- Regular price
- €24,00
- Sale price
- €24,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outPrestige single-vineyard rosé. Cold-fermented and painstakingly crafted to enjoy the whole year round.
-
Cartus
- Regular price
- €120,00
- Sale price
- €120,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSuper prestige cuvee, made exclusively from 100 year old vines in the legendary Quisens and Carners vineyards. -
Gran Clos
- Regular price
- €59,00
- Sale price
- €59,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outSignature cuvee from selected old vines in the Aubages, Quisens and Carners vineyards -
Finca El Puig
- Regular price
- €34,00
- Sale price
- €34,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outMedium bodied single estate cuvee from the Finca El Puig vineyards.
-
365 Rose
- Regular price
- €24,00
- Sale price
- €24,00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
Sold outPrestige single-vineyard rosé. Cold-fermented and painstakingly crafted to enjoy the whole year round.