Mas Sinen Coster Reserve Priorat is made from 50% Grenache and 50% Carignan.
he Priorat DO was created in 1954. But it is only in the 1990 that the quality of the wines were able to compete internationally. It is now a DOCa (The highest qualification level for a wine region according to Spanish wine regulations, alongside Rioja DOCa). Total acreage for the entire appellation is 4,400 acres. Intense red cherry color with garnet reflections. Black fruit, compote fruits, hints of balsamic. The mouth is ripe and intense, fresh and powerful. Strong and flavorful.
50 year old vines planted on Llicorella soil (decomposed black and reddish Slate, mixed with Mica and Quartz). Light filtration.
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 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.
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.
“1752” is the name of the Damilano Barolo Cannubi Riserva, in honor of the year in which the historic bottle was first marked “Cannubi”. It still exists today perfectly conserved by the Manzone family in Bra, close to Barolo. The bottle is clearly marked as being of “1752” vintage, indicating that Cannubi historically precedes Barolo.
About the Vineyard:
The Cannubi Cru is in found within one of the 6 core zones which comprise a UNESCO heritage site in Italy. A mixture of Tortonian and Helvetian calcareous marl gives the grapes intense aromas of cherry, plum and tobacco, rose and violet in sequence. Its low potassium and high calcium/magnesium content offer the wine a fine and polished touch. The vineyard is located at about 270 m. a.s.l. and has a south-east sun exposure. Barolo Riserva Cannubi 1752 It is a small plot of about 2 hectares of Nebbiolo vines, currently between 30 and 50 years of age.
Tasting Notes:
Garnet ruby red in color, the bouquet is intense and balanced, with notes of violet, red fruit, cherry and plum, spices, liquorice, cocoa, leather and tobacco. Dry, robust, full-bodied, very persistent, rich and velvety
Food Pairing:
This wine is excellent with typical piedmontes pasta (tajarin, ravioli); perfect with red meat, braised and roast meat, game and absolutely ideal with all types of cheeses.
Review:
The purity of this wine is pretty phenomenal with blackberries, strawberries, fresh flowers and licorice. Hints of tar. It’s full-bodied, yet composed and compact with ultra fine tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Very structured. Try after 2024.
-James Suckling 97 Points
Tamarack Ciel de Cheval Vineyard Reserve holds dark and chocolate nauces, spiced with pretty notes of allspice and clove, this wine is round and rich, bursting with ripe berries, combined with an earthy complexity and a velvety finish.
Cabernet Sauvignon makes up half of this blend, with the balance Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot
The wine spent 22 months on 75% new French oak with the remaining 25% second vintage French oak. Select barrels from the best forests of Taransaud, Boutes, Quintessance, and Vicard cooperages.
Mas Sinen Coster Reserve Priorat is made from 50% Grenache and 50% Carignan.
he Priorat DO was created in 1954. But it is only in the 1990 that the quality of the wines were able to compete internationally. It is now a DOCa (The highest qualification level for a wine region according to Spanish wine regulations, alongside Rioja DOCa). Total acreage for the entire appellation is 4,400 acres. Intense red cherry color with garnet reflections. Black fruit, compote fruits, hints of balsamic. The mouth is ripe and intense, fresh and powerful. Strong and flavorful.
50 year old vines planted on Llicorella soil (decomposed black and reddish Slate, mixed with Mica and Quartz). Light filtration.
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.
Freemark Abbey Sycamore Cabernet Sauvignon is made from
Wine Profile: Opaque dark ruby describes the color of this Rutherford wine. Black currant and Boysenberry notes dominate the aroma, with dark chocolate truffle, cocoa powder, Worcestershire sauce, cremini mushrooms and forest floor adding to the complexity. The oak adds the ideal amount of complexity with aromatic cedar, cinnamon and clove. The wine has great depth of black fruit flavor, with a strong expression of sweet black cherry. This full-bodied cabernet sauvignon has resolved tannins yet firm structure, with good acidity. Lovely long finish!
Primary Vineyard: Sycamore Vineyard—Rutherford (100%): Small 24-acre vineyard located about 1.2 miles south of Bosche, right up against the Mayacamas Range, this vineyard has a rich clay loam. Sycamore Vineyard produces small berries reminiscent of mountain fruit berries, with intense extract of color and flavor. The color is very dark early in the fermentation, with flavors of black currant and black berry with a forest floor complexity.
Review:
From a vineyard closer to the Mayacamas Mountains and first made in 1980, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyards checks in as 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It spent 27 months in 66% new French. It offers more black fruits, earth, tobacco, cedar, and gravelly minerality as well as a touch more burly, masculine style on the palate. Nevertheless, it's still beautifully balanced, has considerable elegance, and a great finish.
-Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyards gives up powerful crème de cassis, dark chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and baked plums scents with hints of lavender, camphor, pencil shavings and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with rich, black fruits plus a beautiful perfumed undercurrent, framed by finely grained tannins and lovely freshness, finishing with a mineral lift. 1,989 cases were made.
-Wine Advocate 95 Points
Herbal, with characteristics of peppercorn, cedar and pencil shavings, this beautiful wine is also dusty and mineral-driven, with demure flavors of red and black currant. Full bodied and well structured, it shows an underlying softness that should continue to soften in the cellar. Enjoy best from 2026–2031.
-Wine Enthusiast 95 Points
Double Diamond Oakville Proprietary Red is made from 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc.
The 2022 Proprietary Red Wine maintains the exceptional quality and prestige synonymous with winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown and the Double Diamond portfolio. A Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, it is ready to drink upon release but will cellar well for years to come.
This wine is fragrant with mixed berry compote, crushed ivy, iron, and vanilla bean. Full in body and generously concentrated with notes of ripe black fruits, spice, dark chocolate, and espresso framed with silky tannins, food-friendly acidity, and a lingering finish.
Review:
"The 2022 Double Diamond Proprietary Red allows winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown to experiment with a blend under the Schrader label. Fruit is sourced from notable vineyards, including Wappo Hill for Cabernet Franc, Shifflet for Cabernet Sauvignon in the western hills of the Oak Knoll District, and Red Hen Vineyard for Merlot. This is a lush red with high-toned, perfumed aromatics, dark berry fruit, cassis, and dark cacao notes with a cool, wet slate minerality. Full-bodied, it showcases creamy dark cherry and blackberry fruits, hints of plum, fine-grained tannins, and wild herbs on the extended finish. Balanced, joyful, and far too easy to drink."
-Decanter, October 29, 2024 93 Points