1902 Centenary Carignan 2015

2015 saw a return to dry and warm years like 2012, and the 2015 1902 Centenary Carignan was saved from the heat wave in July by 60 liters of rain in June. The destemmed grapes fermented with neutral yeasts in stainless steel, and the wine matured in three brand new French oak barrels for 16 months. The technical data lists almost seven grams of residual sugar, which surprised me. It's ripe, full-bodied and powerful, concentrated and juicy. It's a very powerful and heady Cariñena, with a polished texture. It feels tender and young. 864 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2017. I had the chance to taste a bottle of the never-released 2005, an experimental vintage from a year that could have some similarities with 2015, and the wine felt very balanced and still young, not showing any heat. -Luis Gutiérrez.

This rare wine, made from Carinyena vines planted at almost 600m in 1902 by Sandra Doix’s great-great-grandfather, is not produced every year, and gets a month’s skin contact (submerged cap) before spending 16 months in new oak. It’s a white-knuckle ride of a wine: all seems so gentle and seductive as you edge upwards through the perfumed sweet leather, liquorice and currant scents, then one sip of the explosive, driving, laser-like palate with its plunging acidity and almost screaming redcurrant and blackcurrant fruit leaves you grasping your seat. All is resolved later via grippy, slow tannins. Classic for Priorat and for Poboleda; crunchy and cascading by any other measure. Drinking Window 2018 - 2026