2013 Clos Mogador

 December 4, 2020. Ethereally complex and deep nose. Road tar, vanilla toffee, blackberry, coffee, mint, sweet flowers. Hint of Cabernet in the blend. Long perfectly balanced finish. Med-full body. Rim shows aging nicely, still deep purple center. 97 points from me, 98 from Parker, 94 from Vinous. Totally lives up to my expectations; this is consistently my go-to Priorat when I'm looking for the best. 

Update: had final bottle at Bin 54 with Sarah on July 14, 2023. Even better with 2.5 more years of age. And I preserved 1/4 bottle that was left with air pump preserver so as of July 17 still a beautiful wine of immense complexity and breeding.Mocha, mint, berry, flowers (esp on July 14). Long finish with some alcohol heat to keep the finish going on for minutes.

2016 Mas Doix Salanques

 Mas Doix is one of my favorite wineries. The top of the line wine is Mas Doix, second wine Salanques which I think is just slightly younger vines (still quite old). Had a wonderful tasting with the owner in 2016 (the year this wine's grapes were growing in the vineyard) with Tom and Daniel Banks. The owner had just hosted a tasting for S. Korean sommeliers and already had several older vintages of the flagship wine open so we had a particularly superb tasting, and he was very generous with his time so it was a really memorable experience. (As were several of our other tastings in Priorato.)

On this wine, the nose at 4 years old is opening up nicely, and so beautiful. The impressions of spearmint, flowers and pine needles join with the cherry fruit to mark this as a Priorat. Grapes are 65% grenache, 25% carignan and 10% syrah and that's what this smells like to me, Grenache dominating but spice, woodsy odors from carignan and syrah. Aged 14 mo. in oak. On palate there's plenty of alcohol and acid for long life and this carries a pretty long finish with noticeable but softish tannins. I'd guess this will peak in 2-3 years and last till the late 20s. I'd give it the same 93+ as Parker.

Parker says 93+ points: The 2016 Salanques is phenomenal, one of the finest vintages ever. It has an expressive nose combining notes of flowers, wild herbs and berries and subdued minerality, reminiscent of wet slate. The palate is medium-bodied, with a little less alcohol, fine, slightly dusty tannins and very good freshness. It's terribly balanced and tasty. It should develop beautifully in bottle. 18,000 bottles were filled in April 2018.

2018 Zuccardi Concreto Malbec

 Beautiful deep purple. On nose spicy blackberry and red fruit/berries too. Along with melon and tea. Goes down very easily! Very gentle soft tannins. Almost imperceptible alcohol 14%. Long finish. This is what Malbec can be when done right. I’d give it 94 points. 

Parker says 95. Says it’s stomped by foot! Concrete vats, egg shaped, as Max and I saw when visiting Zuccardi in November 2019.

2010 Saxum Broken Stones GSM

 August 6, 2020: first post in a long time. Want to at least occasionally record some observations as I'm now able to have an occasional glass of wine without ill effects. This evening I had some 2010 Saxum Broken Stones ($90), preserved nicely by Coravin for a few weeks since I first opened it. Incredibly complex featuring blackberry, coffee + cream, wintergreen and other mints, flowers, lavender and pine woods. The alcohol and acid were prominent at first but calmed down with some airing. Medium body with mild tannins at this point. Medium finish. Particularly impressive on the nose. 94+.

Parker said:

Even more perfumed and up-front aromatically, the 2010 Broken Stones is a brilliant effort. A multi-vineyard blend of 63% Syrah, 19% Mourvedre, 15% Grenache, and 3% Petite Sirah that was aged mostly in new French oak, it offers up a gorgeously pure array of black raspberry, charcoal, licorice, lavender, and assorted floral qualities on the nose. This flows to a full-bodied, deft, and elegant palate that has no hard edges, a weightless feel, and masses of fine, yet firm tannin on the finish. Give bottles another year or three, and then drink over the following 12-15 years.  96 points. Drink 2014- 2029.