2018 Blai Ferré i Just, 'Clos Petitona' Priorat

Winemaker Notes: Clos Petitona is a wine produced from a single plot located in the village of Falset, the heart of Spain's prestigious DOQ Priorat. The plot is typical of the extreme slopes of Priorat (Costers), terraced against the ravages of time. It was planted in 1949 with Garnatxa Negra and Garnatxa Peluda vines, of more or less the same proportion. It has a south-east orientation and a surface area of 3.5 acres planted with a total of 3,200 vines.

Petitona is equal parts traditional Catalan Garnatxa and a variety known as Garnatxa Peluda—‘Hairy’ Garnatxa—because the vine leaves are covered in fine hairs that make it drought resistant. Perfumed rather than floral, the wine shows an earthen nose with baking spice and especially, a touch of licorice-ash from which the soil llicorella gets its name.