Sara y Rene Viticultors Priorato Tinto Partida Bellvisos 2019 750ml

I tasted two vintages of the red produced with a majority of Cariñena and a part of Garnacha Peluda, which has a different character from Garnacha Tinta and something reminiscent of Cariñena. The 2019 Gratallops Vi de Vila Partida Bellvisos is a wine that distills the rustic character of the Priorat landscape but seems to be able to extract that character in a wine that has finesse, like it was put through a sieve that let the character in but stopped the larger, more rustic particles. It transported me to the character of the Priorat reds from the turn of this century, with the wet slate aromas and the lifted sensation. It has a medium-bodied palate with abundant, slightly dusty tannins, and it's spicy and tasty. There's more definition here than in the 2020 that I tasted next to it.

When the winemakers reclaimed the "coster" (a steeply sloping traditional Priorat vineyard) and brought it back into production, they initially thought they had acquired a plot of Carinyena (Carignan) grapes. To their great surprise, they discovered that the vineyard actually contained 40% Garnatxa Peluda (Downy Grenache)! This Garnatxa Peluda ripens earlier than the Carinyena, and it imparts a fresher, more vibrant character to the wine. This was the final piece of the puzzle they needed to achieve the desired balance in their Bellvisos wine. The winemakers first harvest the Garnatxa Peluda grapes and subject them to a carbonic maceration, where the whole clusters are fermented for 10 to 12 days. After this initial maceration, the juice is pressed and blended with the rest of the Garnacha and Carignan components. The combined must is then crushed, with 50% of the grape stems retained. The maceration process lasts for 35 to 40 days, and the wine is then aged for 18 months in 2000-liter foudres (large oak barrels). This meticulous approach allows the winemakers to capture the unique characteristics of the Garnatxa Peluda, while seamlessly integrating it with the Carinyena to create a harmonious and balanced Bellvisos wine.