TERROIR AL LÍMIT | PRIORAT

Les Manyes 2021

The best wines defy color and style in pursuit of provenance. And when those origins are Les Manyes, one need not ask why. Situated at the top of a monastery in the village of Scala Dei, 800 meters up the high slopes of the Montsant mountains, the west-facing Grand Cru vineyard of Les Manyes is a universe unto itself. The Garnacha Peluda (literally: Hairy Grenache) vines that grow there are a rare variant of the region’s more popular Garnacha Tinta. They are equipped with a fine downy fuzz on the underside of their leaves that conserves moisture in the blazing heat – allowing them to thrive even in this hot and challenging climate. Lower sugar levels also mean lower alcohol levels, lending an unmistakable brightness and elegance to enhance the depth and concentration. The distinctive chalk-rich clay soils mark the Garnacha fruit with a minerality, structure and elegance that could only ever be one place, one time, one wine. The grapes are hand harvested, whole cluster fermented, and then aged for 8 months in cement. 

The jewel of the Terroir al Límit flagship Range, Les Manyes is one of the elusive 100-parker-point wines (2016). Each iconic pour weaves a rich and complex web of smoke and stone, fragrant black cherry brilliance and savory mountain herbs; a delicate bitterness settles like a cool morning fog over the whole, lending structure, shape and an elegant expression, both now and for a long, lovely future to come.  
Location Montsant Mountain, around Mas Deu
Age 60 years old
Altitude 800 meters
Orientation
West
Varieties
100% Hairy Grenache
Soils
Clay
Production
3,500 bottles
Yield
2,000 kg per hectare
Alcohol 13.5 %
Location Montsant Mountain, around Mas Deu
Age 60 years old
Altitude 800 meters
Orientation
West
Varieties
100% Hairy Grenache
Soils
Clay
Production
3,500 bottles
Yield
2,000 kg per hectare
Alcohol 13.5 %
  • ELEVAGE
  • REVIEW
After several years experimenting with different casks, sizes and producers, we now work with a combination of 500-litre barrels and different sizes of Stockinger, thus guaranteeing the most respectful elevage to allow the wine to rest before early bottling. We prefer bottling the wines in a rather reductive state with some hints of gas and lots of life. This means they are very fresh and vital when put into the bottle, resulting in a fresh, straightforward wine which is tight and has lots of tension.
Reviewed by Luis Gutiérrez | The Wine Advocat

The otherworldly 2015 Les Manyes is a completely different Garnacha from Priorat, as it comes from a high-altitude vineyard on clay and limestone soils with a total absence of slate. From a cold terroir at 800 meters in altitude, this is very perfumed, floral, exuberant and open, nuanced, elegant and complex.

The wine also has structure and concentration but doesn’t show it—or just shows it in a subtle way. This has an electric palate with lively, almost citric acidity. Every year the wines seem to be better... Where is the limit?

1,865 bottles were filled after 24 months in a Stockinger foudre, yet the wine shows no oak at all. This is truly outstanding, possibly the best Les Manyes ever. I couldn’t help but to think about Rayas when I tasted this...