Twenty years have passed since the Priorat embarked on its wine making revolution. René Barbier’s enterprising spirit and firm belief in the potential of the region turned him into the true instigator of this movement which has made this wine appellation one of the stars of the international wine world. Today, he is one of the pioneers who have been striving to achieve elegance and finesse in Priorat wines.
His wines are marked by a strong personality. They demonstrate a vintner’s courage and search for maximum expression of the vineyard’s terroir in his wines. These are not wines to be drunk young. They have shown that they need some bottle time, before they can truly express themselves.
A Catalan friend of mine, Etienne Montes, introduced me to Clos Mogador back in 1995. I can still clearly recall my excitement when I tasted it for the first time. I wanted my customers to taste this wine too and René kindly accepted my invitation to present his wines at my restaurant. Since then, time has passed, his wines have evolved, improving with every vintage, but my excitement for Clos Mogador remains the same.
Thank you René for your “Great Wines”; wines which require patience and we must wait for. I sincerely hope that we, the faithful, will be ever increasing in numbers.
Marie-Louise Banyols
(LAVINA Head of Department for Research and Products)
«Only on very few occasions in the life of a sommelier, does one have the opportunity to work with such a kind, friendly and simple person as René Barbier.
After having tasted Rene’s wines many times, I now know that this unassuming behaviour is just a façade which conceals the genius of this spectacular vintner. As is often the case, a genius in winegrowing terms is expressed via a complex interpretation of terroir, which is the basis of a great wine.
Mogador is René and René is Mogador. It is osmosis of the Priorat’s soil as well as the result of exceptional Syrah and Grenache vines. Mogador 2009 is spectacular for its complexity, which is surprising at such an early stage in its development. The multiple layers of flavours and aromas during a first tasting really reveal his genius. This wine is a fantastic concentration of camphor, blackberry jam, mingled with light touches of vanilla and incense which offer a prodigious and exotic identity.
It has a nose which continues to unfold and open up to unveil a pedigree of quality where the wine’s spice unfurls slowly. On two occasions, a hint of eucalyptus has enthralled me whilst tasting this great wine. One is aware of a fiery temperament in its intense nose.
In the mouth, which is a very sensitive muscle, this wine is articulate and elegant - definitely a great wine, which today is still too young. Tomorrow it will be fantastic, that’s to say spectacular. Intense and concentrated, yet at the same time, beautifully balanced, Clos Mogador, 2009 reveals perfectly integrated acidity which comes to the aid of the wine’s tannins. These tannins are capable of surprising the most docile of wine experts and it will captivate those wine amateurs, who are searching for strong sensations. This wine is dominated by red fruit compote followed by notes of cappuccino with hints of spice returning at the finish. It has an extraordinary long finish, which is accompanied by beautiful acidity. This wine merits multiple years of cellaring in order to reveal its true nature. Having said this, it is delicious now, in its still very youthful state.
René, what else can I say, but thank you.
For Priorat
For Spain
For wine
And for all of us, who are epicureans and gourmets!»
For the first time in our country, Clos Mogador, one of the prestigious wines made by René Barbier in the D.O.Ca. Priorat, was awarded the prestigious qualification of «Vi de Finca».
“Vi de Finca” is an additional qualification to the D.O.Ca. Priorat certification, which already recognizes this wine. Clos Mogador was the first wine to receive this prestigious qualification in the whole of Spain. It certifies that all grapes used to make this wine over at least the last five years have been sourced from the Clos Mogador single vineyard (five years which can be documented and traced), and at the same time is awarded to a wine which has received international acclaim over at least the last ten years.
2009
Certificat Vi de Finca
