Merum Priorati is a winery founded in 2004 by two Catalan families, located in Porrera, in the eastern sector of the DOQ Priorat. The estate comprises three plots — Les Foreses, Plana Marjot and Les Escomelles — totalling 103 hectares, of which only 29 are planted with vines; the rest is rugged mountain terrain where vines can barely grow. There is scarcely any soil to speak of, just a carpet of llicorella (fractured black slate) that forces the vines to root deep and produces extremely low yields, under 1 kg of grapes per vine and as little as 250 g on the oldest Grenache and Carignan plants.
The estate grows five varieties: Grenache and Carignan as the backbone, plus Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Winemaking is artisanal, with fermentation in small open-top vats and long macerations, aiming for wines that faithfully portray the terroir of Porrera without over-polishing them. The range centers on three wines: Inici, meant to represent the roots and land of Priorat; Destí, a more modern expression of Grenache and Carignan; and El Cel, a tribute to the classic 1990s Priorat style.
The 2018 Destí scored 95 points and was named among Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 2021, and other vintages have won gold medals at competitions including Grenaches du Monde, Gilbert & Gaillard, Decanter World Wine Awards, Mundus Vini, the Sakura Japan Women's Wine Award and Berliner Wein Trophy. The winery is now part of the Pere Ventura Family Wine Estates group.
Imatge: Alberto-g-rovi · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Sources: pereventuragroup.com · mtouton.com · falstaff.com