The different terroirs which exist within the Priorat wine appellation have given rise to the creation of a new “Village Wine – Gratallops”. Just like in Burgundy, France. The prestige of this winemaking area knows no limits and Manyetes is a good example of this new wine label.
Manyetes is the name of a vineyard in Gratallops: A daring venture where vines can barely survive given the poor soil of the region, the intense sunlight and the bleak exposure. The vines are quite literally at the extreme of survival, however, this is exactly what gives rise to the principal essence of Priorat!
In this parched, arid area of steeply sloping slate hillsides, our Carignans struggle to survive. This is an extraordinary vineyard in an extraordinary setting. With the idea of bringing a touch of femininity to our wines, we have also planted the Grenache.
Today, the work has paid off and visitors to the region can appreciate the vast horizon where the Ebro river gives, from time to time, a modicum of humidity - just enough to allow the vines to survive.
The final result is staggering - a harmonious blend of these noble grapes is completely at one with the terroir and gives us a wine with minerality, femininity, subtlety and complexity which warms our hearts.
Manyetes is, quite simply, the essence of Priorat transformed into wine .
“Les Manyetes” is a south-facing vineyard, located at 250m above sea level. The soil is 100% “llicorella” (a type of schist) with very little top soil, where the vines struggle to survive. It is our hottest vineyard plot.
Over the last ten years, we have increased the amount of Carignan in the Manyetes blend. We started adding more in 2006 and this 2010 vintage is now made up of 90-95% Carignan.
In this soil and with this type of sun exposure, the Carignan grape variety offers surprising freshness, yet it still retains its bold tannins.
“It was a cold vintage, without a doubt the best one since we started making wine here. It was perfectly balanced, especially for our south-facing vineyards. This wine will age well in the future, yet can still be very pleasant when drunk young.
It is a finely structured vintage, which has meant that we aged the wine for a shorter period in barrel. This ageing period has kept the wine’s length, rather than its breadth, which is a rather unusual event in this arid region.
Its silky tannins on the finish make this an easy drinking wine even when it is still very young.
Making a vintage like this has been a great pleasure, especially since years like this are incredibly rare.
Enjoy it now, but save some to savour as it ages.”