CWD: An "Aged "Priorat

D

drssouth

Stephen South
With chicken kebabs with roasted vegetables.. decanted for 2+ hrs
1997 Clos de l'Obac, Priorat,Costers del Siurana, Alc 13.5, $45: Fairly brown at the edges. Sour earthy, leafy aged nose... Great tastes that remind me more of Rioja than Priorat.. still good fruit and structure..tannins are nearly all resovled.. very food friendly.. drink now or soon..
 
Patrick Campbell's characters in the Aubrey-Maturin novels drank their fair share of fine old "Priorato" throughout the series. I think that's where I first heard of the stuff, back when I was ahem, young.
 
Priorat at 13%; 'must have snowed (one way or the other).
$45? Have I got a deal for you . . .
Best, Jim
(feeling particularly cynical after a meal so glorious I can barely contain myself - Bwood has had Diane's roast chicken and risotto - sometimes, the harmonic convergence arrives on stoneware. And paired with the '05 Vissoux, Poncie, OMG!)
Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
Priorat at 13%; 'must have snowed (one way or the other).
$45? Have I got a deal for you . . .
Best, Jim
(feeling particularly cynical after a meal so glorious I can barely contain myself - Bwood has had Diane's roast chicken and risotto - sometimes, the harmonic convergence arrives on stoneware. And paired with the '05 Vissoux, Poncie, OMG!)
Best, Jim
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Nice.

The chix with the black chanterelle/shallot/thmye/Savennieres compound butter under the skin is about to go on the Weber. I have high hopes.
 
I just guessed at the price... actually about $30.. as you well know, I have spent a vast excess of $$$ on a variety of wines (both good, bad and somewhere in between).
Interestingly, I rarely "regret" most purchases.. it really wouldn't do much good. My buying in the past couple of years has been far more conservative and focused (relatively) and is much more driven by MY personal experience and desires. I must admit this has not always been so.
I should note, some of my more "extravagant" purchases have also given great pleasure.
Basically my cellar is an inch deep and a mile wide... I really wouldn't change this.
Look forward to the details about the Vissoux
 
There was a discussion on Squires that Priorat reaches its peak typically in eight or nine years. Any thoughts about that?
 
I would say that for this wine that would have been spot on. For others, I'm not sure. I own 57 Priorat wines with 8 of them with vintages from 1991 to 1998.. I feel the Cims de Poerra has more time than that.. I will let you know on the others as they "fall". This is an area that I have been infatuated with for about 10 yrs. Most of the bottles I have consumed, however, have been within the 7-9 yr age(after vintage).
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
'00 Mogador did not require more time when tasted recently. I liked it better younger.
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The '96 Clos Mogador was still quite good when opened in 9/06 but there wasn't a lot of upside potential.. (? effect of vintage vs.producer)
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:
There was a discussion on Squires that Priorat reaches its peak typically in eight or nine years. Any thoughts about that?
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Steve,
I have yet to have a Priorat that I thought was at its peak. But I am not especially taken with the wines from there so maybe I haven't had a large enough sample.
Best, Jim
 
I'm no Priorat expert, but most of the '97s that I've tried seem to be atypically non-inky, non-gobby wines. My second-to-last bottle of Clos Erasmus '97 last year was positively lean.
 
1997 was a weak, wet vintage in Priorat, about the same level of quality it reached in Bordeaux and Rioja. (So was 2000, by the way.) So, not the ideal vintage to judge a region's, or even a producer's, aging potential. Clos de l'Obac is a mid-level producer in Priorat, by the way.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
'00 Mogador did not require more time when tasted recently. I liked it better younger.
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This may be a wise approach for CM's. Recent bottles of CM '98, '99 sadly seem to be going into baked plum and prune territory, whereas an '03 I had a few months back was upright, vibrant, and striking. Paired very well with cumin-dusted grilled lamb. Always thought these would last longer, but not encouraged so far. 2 btls left of the '00, so I guess it's time to open one.
 
Joel, my one sampling of '99 Mogador was consistent with the baked plum and prune assessment. Stewed, really, and fairly yuk.
 
originally posted by slaton:
Joel, my one sampling of '99 Mogador was consistent with the baked plum and prune assessment. Stewed, really, and fairly yuk.
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Yeah.....$75 for prune juice hurts bad. When CM is good tho, holy moly.
 
originally posted by Don Rice:
Patrick Campbell's characters in the Aubrey-Maturin novels drank their fair share of fine old "Priorato" throughout the series. I think that's where I first heard of the stuff, back when I was ahem, young.
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Dude. Patrick CAMPBELL?
 
I liked the Priorats made in the span from 1993-1997, including weak vintages. 1998 was a huge vintage and the hype caught up to the wines. Big prices and bigger styling took over. Of course, since then, the critical clamor has turned into a murmur. There was a slight bump from the 2003 vintage, but that's it.
 
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