The 2011 Les Manyes is the only 100% Garnacha they produce, from a single vineyard, a slope at 800 meters altitude in the Scala Dei zone, where the soils is not the typical llicorella, the slate from Priorat, but a mix of clay and chalk. It’s a very aromatic wine, very heady, intoxicating, with aromas that jump out of the glass, ripe cherries, plums and rose petals, precise and focused. It’s a serious wine, the palate is medium-bodied, with a dense texture, yet it feels fluid, ripe but balanced, elegant, spicy, supple, tasty, very pleasant to drink. An extremely floral and showy Priorat. The fine-grained tannins should become better polished with some additional time in the bottle. Drink 2015-2021.
... More details
Terroir Al Limit Les Manyes 2011 750ml
Rated 96 by Wine Advocate
The 2011 Les Manyes is the only 100% Garnacha they produce, from a single vineyard, a slope at 800 meters altitude in the Scala Dei zone, where the soils is not the typical llicorella, the slate from Priorat, but a mix of clay and chalk. It’s a very aromatic wine, very heady, intoxicating, with aromas that jump out of the glass, ripe cherries, plums and rose petals, precise and focused. It’s a serious wine, the palate is medium-bodied, with a dense texture, yet it feels fluid, ripe but balanced, elegant, spicy, supple, tasty, very pleasant to drink. An extremely floral and showy Priorat. The fine-grained tannins should become better polished with some additional time in the bottle. Drink 2015-2021.
... More details
Deep ruby. An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes candied red fruits, sandalwood, Asian spices and blood orange. Deeply pitched raspberry and cherry-cola flavors show excellent clarity and become sweeter with air. Licorice and bitter chocolate nuances add depth to the long, spice-accented finish, which features supple tannins and alluring sweetness.
Tasting Les Manyes blind is a thrilling exercise. Without a reference point to guide you, you find yourself wandering around the Mediterranean confused if you’re in Spain, the Rhône, or Piedmont. There are a couple of reasons why Les Manyes is so unique in the Priorat. Firstly, this is not Garnatxa on llicorella; instead, it is Garnatxa Peluda grown on clay soils rich in chalk and gypsum located in the mountains above the village of Scala Dei – making for a wine with a distinctly different mineral profile that one normally expects from the Priorat. Secondly, it is made by Dominik Huber, who farms these grapes biodynamically, harvests them a few weeks before his neighbors, ferments them whole-cluster with indigenous yeasts, favors infusion over extraction, and presses half-way through the fermentation before finishing the wine and aging it in concrete tanks to preserve its soulful, red-fruit driven character.