Sunday, July 5, 2009

Clos l'Obac costers del siurana 2001



Clos l'Obac is a Priorat, a Spanish wine area that has become my second favorite (to bordeaux). Tends to use grenache, syrah and also cabernet, merlot and carignan. This one, on the nose and palate: the grenache has that dense sweet berry, with a resemblance to huckleberry pie with vanilla ice cream. The syrah comes out more in the briary, spicy component of the taste. The nose is pretty restrained now and clearly can go 2-3 more years before it rounds out and fully opens. Underneath the grenache smell for me is the hint of black currant that indicates cabernet--and maybe cherry from merlot? Color is purple ruby with only the slightest hint of age at the rim. Plenty of soft tannin on a long finish that emphasizes strawberry-cherry component with acid that sustains the finish. A whiff of alcohol on nose and a bit of heat on finish, both of which should calm down in a couple years. Medium body and moderately silky palate. I'd think this will be best from 2011 to 2018.

Notice from the pictures Priorat is an arid area--it's good for wine grapes to have to struggle, roots have to go deep to get water and nutrients--but it's close enough to the sea to get some nice humidifying cloud cover.


Clos l'Obac on the 2nd day, 24 hours after opening and using vacuum pump and standard refrigerator: incredible how it's changed and now tastes very much like a cabernet. Tannin and acid have receded in favor of the now extremely silky black currant and vanilla fruit. Like drinking a different and at least as pleasurable a wine. I recommend everyone retaste their red wines after 24 hours. The best ones will give as much pleasure a day later.


July 7: two days since opening. 3rd day clos l’obac the spice is more recognizably rosemary (though I am eating rosemary bread as I sip) and the wine no longer tastes like a cabernet so much. More like a blend between day 1 and 2. There’s some cabernet present with a hint of mint and currant. It’s lost some body and zip and won’t be very good tomorrow. There’s a Madera quality to the nose today—I guess that means oxidation is taking its toll. Certainly you could drink this l’Obac today with considerable pleasure, though having it alongside the just-opened Binder Heinrich makes the comparison unfair.


Parker 91 points writing in 2004

This unfiltered blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, and Carignan, aged for 14 months in new French oak, and bottled unfiltered, boasts a deep purple color along with a pure bouquet of raspberries, blueberries, wet stones, and toasty, subtle vanillin. Medium-bodied with outstanding concentration, impressive elegance, and a nice texture, this tight but promising 2001 should hit its prime in 2-4 years, and last for 12-15.

Wine spectator 91 points also
Powerful, rich with extract and tannins, offering ripe fruit flavors of plum and dried cherry that mingle with spicy oak and notes of wild herb. More muscular than expressive, but should open with food. Best after 2004. 200 cases imported.

Bob's Note on Priorat
Some of the most hedonistic wines I've ever had are Priorats, though my experience with them is only about 3 years, since our spring 2006 trip to Spain when we on a whim decided to detour to Priorat while heading back to Pamplona after a couple days in Barcelona. We got to the village, had a very good meal at a simple restaurant, along with a 2002 Clos Mogador that blew all of us away. We'd had at l'ABAC restaurant in Barcelona a 2004 Mogador if I remember the vintage right. That was a revelation and it's what led to the detour. The restaurant proprietor in Priorat kindly called a winemaker in Montsant who was associated with Rene Barbier, founder of Mogador, and we had a terrific tour and tasting at Laurona. Montsant is just outside Priorat, making some excellent wines the way Canon and Fronsac can make 'em almost as good as Pomerol in Bordeaux area.

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