Laurel Priorat 2020 750ml

2020 was a challenging year that gave them a lot of work in the vineyard but it it paid off. The 2020 Laurel feels very elegant balanced and fresh a little lighter perhaps with perfectly ripe tannins a little in line with 2016 or 2013. It might be a little unusual for the house style or perhaps a slight change as they are gradually going for softer vinifications; you don’t really need to extract in Priorat because the wines are powerful enough on their own. It’s still extremely young and has a lactic touch (that blows off with a bit of time in the glass); it was only bottled at the end of May 2022 three months before I tasted it. Even if it’s the second wine here it’s a wine that needs a little bit of time and improves in the bottle. Having said that the 2020s feel more open expressive and approachable than the 2019s which are more tannic and powerful while the 2020s feel a little more Burgundian if you like. This has to be one of the finest vintages of Laurel so far.

After some time in the glass the aromatics of the Syrah (which was perhaps a little more this year some 12% versus 8% in 2019) made an appearance?violets smoked bacon. Daphne Glorian told me that everything was easy that the wine was expressive and open from day one and that the fermentations were smooth. There are some 19000 bottles of this. Daphne Glorian and her team are also planting for the future: they replanted Escales her first vineyard in Priorat in 2017/2018 and between 2020 and 2021 she planted over five hectares in Solanes (technically El Lloar) mostly Garnacha and some Syrah with a magnificent view of the village of Gratallops. She bought the property in 2010 but never got around to planting it until now. She needs to increase volumes because there is a lot more demand than supply. I tasted the wines from 2019 and 2020 two challenging vintages that delivered very good wines.

2019 was a drier vintage than 2018 a very dry year (more than warm) that has produced muscular wines that need time in bottle Mediterranean wines from a sunny vintage a vintage Glorian compares with 2012 and 2015. 2020 was the year of mildew but as they farm organically they are constantly working in the vineyards. So they reacted as soon as the mildew appeared but they realized it was a different strain that gave them a lot of work; they treated the vineyards every four days. They ended up losing maybe 10% of the crop but not much more than what she lost in 2019 from the heat wave. The wines from 2020 benefited from the spring rains in terms of freshness and the wines are superbly balanced and have lots of finesse. Even if I didn’t taste the 2021 vintage we discussed it a bit; she told me there will be more wine and that the wines will have a different profile that is more delicate lighter and more floral as there was more rain and yields were. I look forward to them… WA 96 points