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Mas Sinen Clos Priorat is made from 38% Garnacha, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Carinena, 16% Syrah.
Before the 2017 vintage, this wine was called Negre. It is the same vinification and level of excellence as the prior cuvee, but with a different name.
It's quite ripe, concentrated, powerful and oaky with black rather than red fruit and peat and graphite aromas. The palate is full-bodied with plenty of rough-hewn tannins and moderate acidity, and is in need of bottle age and/or powerful food. An XXL Priorat.
The Mas Sinen Estate
Mas Sinen is located in the village of Poboleda, in the province of Tarragona. The winery dates back to the 19th century and has been in the family for a few generations. Mas Sinen is a beautiful estate made of stone and surrounded by the family vineyards. Today, Salvador Burgos and his wife Conxita Porta, together with their two daughters, continue the family tradition using the most modern technologies to produce high quality wine from the Priorat Denomination of Origin.
The ancient Mountainous region of Priorat incorporates nine villages of wine production. They are:
- Gratallops
- Bellmunt del Priorat
- Torroja del Priorat
- Poboleda
- Porrera
- La Morera de Montsant
- Escaladei
- La Vilella Alta
- La Vilella Baixa
- El Llorar
- El Molar
The vineyards measure 1.662,55 hectares on size or 4,106.50 acres.
Priorat is about vines per hectare and not about hectares, because the yields are so low.
The name Priorat comes from the word Priory and refers to the 12th century Carthusian Priory established in the region
The old vines in the Priorat region are almost entirely Garnacha and Carignane.
Soil type: local schist called llicorella (decomposing soil type).
Prior to 1979 very few wineries were in production and the area was becoming depopulated. The interest and revolution in Priorat was created by five wineries whose names all began with the word Clos.
1. Clos Mogador - Rene Barber - the modern day pioneer of the region
2. Clos Martinet
3. Clos de L'OBAC
4. Clos Erasmus
5. Clos Dofi - famous winemaker, Rock star and self prom Alvaro Palacios
Today many new small producers with less than 3,000 cases in production are emerging from this area.
Prices for the wines are high and Priorat along with Rioja are the two regions entitled to the highest quality designation by D.O. law: Denominacion de Origen Calificada or DOQ
Today there are 73 wineries in Priorato with new ones coming all the time.
Wines are designed to age for 10-20 years. The styles vary, but Priorat reds are normally dark colored, muscular, tannic, ripe, rich in alcohol in nature Think Chateauneuf-du-Pape from Spain with a Spanish twist.
The Mas Sinen Vineyards
The vineyards measure 15 hectares total. They are planted in terraces, in the slopes of the "Mas Sinen" mountain and are situated 300-500 meters above sea level, cultivated under organic methods. The vines are 5 to 50 years old planted to local schist called llicorella (decomposing soil type) which is typical of the Priorat region.
Mas Sinen La Vall Priorat is made from 57% Garnacha, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cariñena (Carignan), 9% Syrah.
This wine has a highly intense, lively vermilion red color, complex yet direct aromas with predominant ripe black and red fruits, notes of minerals and forest herbs. Flavors are strong, full and layered with round, fresh and delicate tannins.
Pairs with meat, sausage, cheese.
Mas Sinen Negre Priorat is made from 38% Garnacha, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Carinena, 16% Syrah
Aged in 90% French, 10% American oak barrels for 12 months.
Maceration for 21 days. ML in stainless steel tanks.
Clarification with white egg and soft filtration.
The wine shows great spice and leather components, some minerality and a lot of ripe red fruits aromas as well.
This wine is certified organic.
Review:
"Dark, bright-rimmed ruby. Highly perfumed, mineral- and smoke-accented red and dark fruit preserve, baking spice and floral pastille aromas, along with hints of licorice and black tea. Gently chewy and focused on the palate, offering juicy cherry, blackberry and spicecake flavors that deepen and turn spicier as the wine opens up. Finishes impressively long and sappy, with a lingering floral nuance, well-integrated tannins and a jolt of smoky minerality. Raised in new and used barrels, 90% French and 10% American.- Josh Raynolds"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (March 2021), 93 pts
Mas Sinen Negre Priorat is made from 38% Garnacha, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Carinena, 16% Syrah
Aged in 90% French, 10% American oak barrels for 12 months.
Maceration for 21 days. ML in stainless steel tanks.
Clarification with white egg and soft filtration.
The wine shows great spice and leather components, some minerality and a lot of ripe red fruits aromas as well.
This wine is certified organic.
Review:
"This is a super ripe and fleshy ball of rich dark berries and plums with a super rich, long and fluid texture. Such length and depth of blackberry fruit here. Drink now."
- James Suckling (July 2019), 91 pts
Brize Clos Medecin Anjou Villages is made from 60% Cabernet Fran and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon.
This is the flagship of the Estate. los Medecin has been produced at the estate for 90 years. All the grapes for this wine come from a very special parcel. The wine offers red fruit aromas. It is fresh, round and ample in the mouth.
Pairs with red meat, cheese, and barbecue.
Review:
"Lightly mulled dark cherry fruit flavors mix with tobacco, olive and sanguine notes, ending with a flicker of bay on the chalk-lined finish. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2022. 2,100 cases made, 50 cases imported. - JM"
- Wine Spectator (December 2021), 90 pts
Clos Du Val Yettalil is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec
The 2019 Yettalil opens with aromas of fresh blackberry, ripe plum, and racy cassis layered with hints of violet, bay leaf, and thyme. Beautifully balanced and elegant on the palate, vibrant acidity and polished tannins give way to a concentrated core of black cherry, vanilla, and cedar. The texture is velvety and plush with a backbone of graphite and dark chocolate that lingers through a long finish.
Review:
The 2019 Yettalil is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out with energetic notes of crushed black and red currants, warm black plums, and black raspberries, plus suggestions of cedar, violets, and Indian spice with a waft of tree bark. The medium to full-bodied palate is lively and well-structured, featuring firm, ripe tannins to frame the muscular fruits, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note.
-Wine Independent 95 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.
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
The 2017 was a very different year to 2016 in terms of the viticultural conditions and it was interesting to watch the progression of the wine and scrutinize its quality as it developed over its first two winters. Whereas 2016 had a very mild winter and exceptionally hot summer, this was compensated by abundant winter and spring rainfall. Conversely, 2017 was warm and drythroughout, although summer temperatures were closer to average, whichproved to be a very significant factor allowing for complete, balancedripening.
It is rare to see such tremendous depth and intensity in color as this winedisplays. The freshness of the floral aromas is very attractive with adominance of rockrose, a flower that grows wild around the hills of Senhorada Ribeira. On the palate, it is exceptionally full-bodied, rich andpowerful with black fruit coming to the fore. Gorgeous, ripe fruit isbalanced by the fine tannin structure. On the finish, it is typically Dow,austere and somewhat drier than many other ports. The intense fruit flavors linger long on the palate.
Dow’s Vintage Ports are only produced in years of exceptional quality and represent only a very small part of the total company’s production in that year. On average only two or three times every ten years are the weather conditions sufficiently good to allow for the making of Dow’s Vintage Port.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Dow’s Vintage Ports have been landmark wines in virtually every great year, consistently setting the standards amongst all Port houses. Vintage Ports such as the remarkable Dow 1896, the 1927, 1945, 1955, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1980 and the Dow 1994 are all legends in the history of this great wine. These Ports are still magnificent today, even when 50 or over 100 years old. Few wines can claim this quality and this pedigree.
Dow's Vintage Ports are drawn from the companies' finest vineyards; Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta de Senhora da Ribeira. Each property contributes to the Dow’s unique and distinctive style. When young, Dow’s Vintage Ports are purple-black, austere, complex and intensely concentrated, full-bodied and balanced with very fine peppery tannins.
Over the centuries, the Dow winemakers have evolved a style that suits the house’s key vineyards; fermentations are a little longer, resulting in a drier Port Wine that has become the hallmark of Dow’s. Abundant fruit flavours with hints of ripe blackberries, give elegance and poise to Dow’s. The nose is deep and powerful with strong overtones of violets when young, these mature into fine cinnamon and rose-tea aromas with age. The very high percentage of Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional planted on the vineyards result in the powerful structure and aging potential of Dow’s Vintage Ports
Dow’s Ports avoid an over-rich style and requires a very high degree of skill in wine making and great experience in selecting the finest wines of each year and each vineyard. These wines are aged in seasoned oak casks for some 18 months and are bottled without any filtration or fining whatsoever.
Dow Vintage Ports can be enjoyed when vibrant and young or they can be allowed to age for many years in bottle into a soft and delicate wine of velvet-like elegance.
In the 1920’s, the celebrated Oxford Professor George Saintsbury underlined Dow’s outstanding reputation when he wrote in his famous ‘Notes on a Cellarbook’ (first published in 1920), “There is no shipper’s wine that I have found better than the best of Dow’s 1878 and 1890 especially.”
James Suckling, one of today’s leading authorities on Vintage Port was equally impressed by another legendary wine - the Dow’s 1896 - “The ancient {1896} Port still had an amazing ruby colour with a garnet edge, and it smelled of raisins, black pepper and berries. It was full-bodied, with masses of fruit intertwined with layers of velvety tannins. It was superb.” In 1998, when this wine was 102 years old, he awarded this Port an exceptional 98 points.
Review:
Based on fruit from the predominantly south-facing Quinta do Bomfim in the Cima Corgo and Quinta Senhora da Ribeira in the Douro Superior, with Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca making up 80% of the blend. This is opaque and closed in but powerfully ripe with underlying pure berry fruit. It's seemingly quite introverted compared to some of its peers at this stage, but it's still full, rich and opulent on the palate. It also shows the latent power of the vintage, made as it is in a slightly drier style (3.4 Baumé), with lovely minty fruit and full, ripe sinewy tannins all the way through the finish. Long and lithe, and very fine.
-Decanter 97 Points
A dense, thickly textured version, dripping with warm salted licorice, tar and açaí paste notes, while plum and blueberry pâte de fruit, chai spice and chocolate elements fill in behind. Lots of brambly grip flows underneath. Shows a very sappy feel on the finish. Best from 2035 through 2055. 5,250 cases made, 1,092 cases imported
-Wine Spectator 96 Points
This is a dry while also floral wine, perfumed and enticing with its juicy acidity. At the same time, the structure is very present, showing power and dark black fruits. The balance is coming together with the rich fruits and tannins melding into one. Drink from 2028. ROGER VOSS
-Wine Enthusiast 96 Points
Deep dark ruby garnet, opaque core, violet reflections, delicate brightening of the edges. Black wildberry jam underlaid with delicate herbs and spices, tobacco nuances, hints of blueberry jam and elderberries, schisty notes. Powerful, full-bodied, sweetness present, carrying tannins, dark nougat in the finish, very good length, an imperious style, built for a long life.
Falstaff 98 Points
Patz & Hall Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The 2019 offering is a collection of fifteen single-vineyard quality sites that could all be bottled as single source bottlings; six blocks of Dutton Ranch, three from Sanchietti Vineyard, Gap’s Crown Vineyard, Zio Tony Ranch, three of Parmelee-Hill, and Durell Vineyard. The wine has inviting aromas of spicy pear, marzipan, lemon drop candy, peach pie and pineapple. As a cool-climate Chardonnay, there’s a refreshing acidity on the finish giving the wine great poise, balance and energy.
Review:
Rich, powerful and well-structured, with lemon drop accents to the dried apple and pear tart flavors that show plenty of toasty accents. The creamy finish is boosted by rich acidity. Drink now.
- Wine Spectator 93 Points