" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Clos i Terrasses Clos Erasmus 2020
No longer available.
| Country: | Spain |
| Region: | Priorat |
| Winery: | Clos i Terrasses |
| Grape Types: | Grenache Syrah |
| Organic: | Yes |
| Vintage: | 2020 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
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This wine is one of the absolute benchmarks for fine Priorat, and a reference in Spain. Sourced from 3 small vineyards in the Gratallops, this blend of Grenache and Syrah undergoes strict berry selection and is fermented and aged for 20 months in barrels and amphorae. It is all about dense fruit, exotic spice and licorella minerality, with a freshness and elegance are truly singular, even among the top wines of the appellation.
Clos Saint-Jean is a 41-hectare estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape run by brothers Vincent and Pascal Maurel. Considered by many critics and wine-writers as the preeminent estate espousing the modern style of winemaking in Châteauneuf, this cellar is one of the oldest in the region, having been founded in 1900 by the greatgreat-grandfather of Vincent and Pascal, Edmund Tacussel. A short time after its founding and well before the AOP of Chateauneuf-du-Pape was created in 1923, Edmund began bottling estate wines in 1910.
The farming at Clos Saint-Jean is fully sustainable due to the warm and dry climate, which prevents the need for chemical inputs. Instead, Vincent and Pascal employ organic methods for pest control, mainly pheromones, to prevent pests from taking up residence in their vines, a process called amusingly enough in French, confusion sexuelle. The vines tended manually, and harvest is conducted in several passes entirely by hand.
Combe des Fous literally means, the hill of the fool. The hill, in this case, is located in the far southern reach of Le Crau which was left barren for many centuries because the layer of galets was so exceedingly deep that everyone assumed vines could never survive there. The fool in this situation is Edmund Tacussel, the great-great-grandfather of Vincent and Pascal Maruel who planted a Grenache vineyard on this site in 1905. That old-vine Grenache form the heart of this cuvée with a small amount of Syrah, Cinsault and Vaccarèse. La Combe des Fous is only made in the best vintages.
Review:
Pumps out heady raspberry, mulberry and blackberry compote notes that keep form and direction, thanks to a roasted apple wood spine and flanking ganache, garrigue and warm earth notes. Seriously grippy finish. Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Vaccarèse.
-Wine Spectator 96 Points
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Combe Des Fous is a normal blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and the rest Vaccarèse and Cinsault. Beautiful, full-bodied aromas and flavors of ripe black raspberries, violets, ground pepper, lavender, and herbes de Provence all emerge from this gorgeous barrel sample, and it shows the pure, fresh, yet still concentrated style of the vintage brilliantly.
-Jeb Dunnuck 94-97 Points
Clos Saint-Jean is a 41-hectare estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape run by brothers Vincent and Pascal Maurel. Considered by many critics and wine-writers as the preeminent estate espousing the modern style of winemaking in Châteauneuf, this cellar is one of the oldest in the region, having been founded in 1900 by the greatgreat-grandfather of Vincent and Pascal, Edmund Tacussel. A short time after its founding and well before the AOP of Chateauneuf-du-Pape was created in 1923, Edmund began bottling estate wines in 1910.
The farming at Clos Saint-Jean is fully sustainable due to the warm and dry climate, which prevents the need for chemical inputs. Instead, Vincent and Pascal employ organic methods for pest control, mainly pheromones, to prevent pests from taking up residence in their vines, a process called amusingly enough in French, confusion sexuelle. The vines tended manually, and harvest is conducted in several passes entirely by hand.
Deus ex Machina is a literary and dramatic term for a miraculous intervention that interrupts a logical course of events in a plot or play. A suitable name for a cuvée that had it’s start in the torrid vintage of 2003 when Philippe Cambie and Vincent Maurel made the decision to harvest at the end of September, weeks after their neighbors. Deus ex Machina is a blend of old vine Grenache from La Crau, aged in tank with equally ancient Mourvedre from the sandy soils of BoisDauphin aged in demi-muid. Deus ex Machina is only made in the best vintages.
Review:
Machina reminds me slightly of the 2011 with its spicy, perfumed, complex bouquet of red and black fruits, dried flowers, pepper, and Provençal herbs, with more gamey, meaty notes emerging with time in the glass. Full-bodied on the palate, it's balanced, has ultra-fine yet building tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish.
-Jeb Dunnuc 97 Points
Boasts bitter plum, raspberry and black cherry reduction notes that have a lively savory, garrigue streak, while grippy-edged tar, tobacco and ganache notes pepper the finish. Muscular and dense but the cut is there, and the fruit core takes a late encore for good measure. Grenache and Mourvèdre.
-Wine Spectator 97 Points
Alain Jaume Domaine du Clos de Sixte Lirac is made from 50% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre
An intense red garnet color. On the nose, aromas of red and black ripe fruit (kirsch and wild blackberry). The mouth is full, with aromas of blackcurrant liqueur and spice. Tannins are both harmonious and elegant thanks to the fleshiness of the wine. Hints of licorice and vanilla on the finish, which gives the wine length and complexity.
Soil type LIRAC vineyard is facing Chateauneuf du Pape, opposite side of the Rhône river. As showed by the picture and following geologist George Truc, soils are almost similar in both side. They are marked by the violence wrought by the Rhone river. It consists of a layer of marine molasses of the Miocene period covered by alpine alluvium. The presence of a great number of rounded stones known as "galets" in the earth is evidence of the time when the Rhone, then a torrent, tore fragments of rock from the Alps and deposited them on the plain. LIRAC is one of the up-coming best area from the southern Rhône valley, as it delivers outstanding wines. Winemaking & ageing Traditional wine-making in stainless still vats. Hand sorted bunches, crushed and destemmed grapes. Fermentation temperature : 30°C. 18 days of vatting with pigeages.
Alain Jaume Gigondas Terrasses de Montmirail is made from 65% Grenache the rest Syrah, Mourvèdre by less than 15%.
Deep red garnet color. Aromas of ripe and black fruits. On the palate the wine is rich, powerful and harmonious - well balanced with wild berry and pepper dominating.
Soil types
Located in and around the famous area called “Dentelles de Montmirail”, the landscape typicity is made by a rocky bar (between 100 and 600 meters high). Soils are made of clay and sand with limestone. The “Dentelles” appeared thanks to the pressure between the Pyrenees and Alps mountains. This is a land of predilection to produce both powerful and fresh wines. Nights are cooler and the grapes ripeness usually comes in late September.
Winemaking & aging
Traditional wine-making in stainless and concrete vats. Crushed and destemmed grapes. Average of 18 days of vatting with pigeages. Ageing in vats mostly and oak barrels. Bottling after 12 – 14 months.
Domaine Jean Grivot Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Domaine Jean Grivot is among the great names in Burgundian wine. Étienne Grivot and his wife Marielle took over from Étienne’s father Jean Grivot in 1987. The vineyards are densely planted and farmed organically “sans certification” while the aim in the cellar is for balance and clear expression of terroir.
Jean Grivot’s 38.3 acres spread across 22 appellations with vineyards in the communes of Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, and Nuits-Saint-Georges. Besides the three grand crus, there are 8 premier crus including the much lauded Les Beaux Monts and Suchots in Vosne-Romanée. The grapes are completely de-stemmed and fermentation is spontaneous.
About the Vineyard:
Clos de Vougeot grand cru was acquired by Étienne’s grandfather, Gaston Grivot, in 1919. The total holding is 4.6 acres from the middle of the vineyard to the lower wall and the average vine age is 40 years old. A good Clos de Vougeot should be a complete wine without any one feature standing out. It is a perfect balance of power, aroma, and flavor.
Wine Production:
The grapes are destemmed and maceration à froid usually lasts just a day or two. The alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous and malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel. Depending on the vintage, the proportion of new oak is around 40-70% percent for the grands crus.
Tasting Notes:
The wine shows aromas and flavors of red berries, herbs, and purple flowers. The palate is rich with ripe fruit and medium weight with bright acidity and fine tannins. Aging in 40-70% new Burgundian pièce brings notes of vanilla, toast, and baking spices.
Food Pairing:
Red Burgundy might be the world’s most flexible food wine. The wine’s high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, and low tannins make it very food-friendly. Red Burgundy, with its earthy and sometimes gamey character, is a classic partner to roasted game birds, grilled duck breast, and dishes that feature mushrooms, black truffles, or are rich in umami.
Review:
This round version is packed with ripe black cherry, violet, graphite and tobacco flavors. The silky texture and vibrant acidity work in tandem, while refined tannins provide support without getting in the way. There are a few edges to be worked out, yet this is long and concentrated.
-Wine Spectator 95 Points
Product Description
This wine is one of the absolute benchmarks for fine Priorat, and a reference in Spain. Sourced from 3 small vineyards in the Gratallops, this blend of Grenache and Syrah undergoes strict berry selection and is fermented and aged for 20 months in barrels and amphorae. It is all about dense fruit, exotic spice and licorella minerality, with a freshness and elegance are truly singular, even among the top wines of the appellation.
Review:
The still young and primary 2020 Clos Erasmus feels very floral and ethereal (within Priorat and Clos Erasmus); it's a fresher and lighter expression but without being weak. It's still a baby that needs to burn the baby fat (there are still some lactic notes from the malolactic in barrel). The wine is always around 3.2 or 3.3 pH and has some 15% to 15.5% alcohol, but the sensation this year is of a much fresher, more balanced and elegant wine. This should make an elegant bottle of mature Priorat with a decade in bottle, and I guess it will be long lived. Glorian mentioned that a small lot that normally goes to Laurel was added to the blend of Erasmus, resulting in a lot of added freshness and a note of orange blossom, which makes sense to me with the floral character of the wines and the extra freshness I perceived. This is really beautiful. It's a very special vintage of Erasmus that unfurls incredible complexity and tantalizing aromas with time in the glass—blood orange (talk about freshness!), curry and cassis. It has great purity, complexity, elegance and finesse... A very different Clos Erasmus. Bravo!
-Wine Advocate 100 Points
Winery: Clos i Terrasses
Folly takes many forms. Driven by whim, restlessness, or passion, it typically marks a pivot in one’s life that only the benefit of hindsight can judge. In 1988 Daphne Glorian spent her entire life’s savings on 17 terraces of vines situated in a wooded hollow just outside the village of Gratallops. Her accomplices in this folly? – René Barbier, Álvaro Palacios, Carles Pastrana, and Josep Lluís Pérez. Together they pooled their resources and newly-acquired vineyards, settling in a region rich in history but without a reputation for fine wines.
In 1989 the modern Priorat was born: one wine but five different labels, each of which would become known worldwide: Clos Mogador, Clos Dofi, Clos Martinet, Clos de l’Obac, and Clos Erasmus. Clos Erasmus is fittingly named after the famed humanist and Renaissance author Desiderius Erasmus, a favorite writer of Daphne and her humanist father, and in whose timeless work – In Praise of Folly – can Daphne’s hard work in the Priorat be fully understood.
Born in Paris but of Swiss-German ancestry, Daphne Glorian spent her early years shuttling between Switzerland and France before settling in Gratallops. “I like to make lists of what needs to be done each day, and in Spain, I’m happy if I manage a quarter of it,” is how Daphne explains her life now in Spain.
While studying law in Paris in her 20s, Daphne first discovered fine wine while working as the office manager for Kit Stevens MW. What was simply a job to make ends meet would soon become her advocation. Shortly after taking the job with Kit, she met René Barbier and Álvaro Palacios, who were both so passionate about a place called the Priorat that she decided she needed to visit and see it for herself.
The early years of making wine in the Priorat were not easy. The rugged landscape and poor soils yielded only small quantities of wine, and the region was unknown outside of Catalunya. From its start, Clos Erasmus has been a wine made from younger vines blessed with being planted in the right spot. Farming has always been sustainable, and with the addition of Ester Nin as Daphne’s viticulturist in 2004, Clos i Terrasses has been converted to biodynamic farming.
In her early vintages, Daphne relied on her friends René Barbier and Álvaro Palacios for advice, but guided by her instincts and her training in Burgundy, where she first discovered wine, her wines have evolved to become some of the most sought-after references for the Priorat – and along the way, some of the most desired wines in the world. Despite having received multiple 100-point scores from top critics, Daphne has kept Clos i Terrasses modest in size and has not dramatically increased her production of Clos Erasmus, preferring to create a second, equally expressive wine, Laurel.
Today Daphne’s property goes by the name Clos i Terrasses to recognize the Clos upon which her fame was established and the terraces that she currently farms. The original folly, Escales is a 1.7-hectare parcel planted originally on seventeen terraces carved out of a steep slope and surrounded by woods. North-facing, its seemingly inauspicious aspect creates the perfect conditions for the slow ripening of Garnatxa. The top-most seven terraces of Escales were regraded to costers in 2019 as the Syrah originally planted here began to die due to the heat. This new portion of Escales was subsequently regrafted to Garnatxa, making this site now 100% Garnatxa.
In the early 1990s, Daphne added Aubagues and Socarrats to her holdings. Aubagues was once partially terraced, but this section was regraded to costers and replanted with Garnatxa in 2013. Now totaling 2.5 hectares, Aubagues has a diverse range of exposures that span two ridge tops, with Garnatxa (56%) planted in the exposed, warmer parts of the vineyard and Syrah (44%) on the relatively more sheltered north-facing slopes.
Socarrats is 3.12 hectares and planted with Garnatxa (62%), her few remaining vines of Cabernet Sauvignon (28%), and Syrah (10%). This site runs up and over a hillside from southeast to northwest. Les Vaques is a north-facing part of Socarrats purchased in 1998, and where Daphne has an additional 1.4 hectares of Garnatxa planted in 2018 & 2019.
Guinarderes, acquired in 1998, is 2.9 hectares in size. Facing south and southeast, this is her warmest site and the first to be harvested. Guinarderes is planted with Garnatxa (60%) and Syrah (40%).
Purchased in 2011, Solanes is a steep 11-hectare plot situated at the foot of a dramatic sandstone butte in the village of El Lloar. In 2020 Daphne planted 1.72 hectares of Garnatxa on the south-facing portion, while the corresponding northeast-facing slope would be ideal for Syrah in the future. Despite its size, 2 hectares are already planted with olive trees – the source for her olive oil – leaving only about 4.3 hectares suitable for future planting.
Together these vineyards form Clos i Terrasses. A modest-sized estate by the standards of the modern Priorat, Daphne strives to preserve the ideals that led her to her original folly – the unique and distinct character of Clos Erasmus made possible through a strict selection of sites, fruit, and the barrels in which this nascent wine is aged – as well as the creation of a separate cuvée, Laurel which has its own unique personality and terroir expression.
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Hall Wines The Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 96% Cabernet, 4% Merlot.
The 2017 Kathryn Hall is deep, dark ruby in color and elegantly balanced with layered aromas of concentrated blackberry, freshly turned earth, and a hint of warm, spicy oak. The palate is fruit-forward with underlying notes of rich cocoa and leather. Layers of black fruit, nutmeg, cassis and brooding earthy notes are abundant. Supple, seamless tannin abounds, and the wine finishes with an incredible dark fruit feed-back that lasts several minutes.
Review:
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Kathryn Hall is a blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot, brought up mostly in new barrels. It’s a killer bottle of wine offering lots of ripe black fruits intermixed with savory herbs, melted chocolate, and tobacco. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it shows the lush, round, velvety style of the 2019 vintage and is already impossible to resist. It’s going to evolve for 15+ years if well stored.
-Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
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Review:
"A combination of fruit from the two sides of the Valmur valley, there is a lot of wine in this wine. It is engaging, sophisticated and has good heft with equally solid refreshment. Tasting of nectarines and pear core with a touch of earthiness, there's a gentle, dry tug on the lingering finish. This will certainly compensate the patient wine lover."
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