Life is too short to drink bad wine

This is a fantastic Garnacha (Grenache) by Terroir sense Fronteres (terroir with no limits).  The grapes are from an area called Montsant which lies like a horseshoe around Priorat. The grapes come from 40-80 year old plots around the village of LaFiguera at around 750 above sea level. The terroir is predominately chalk on steep terraces. The wine has fermented and stored on cement tanks before being bottled. 2017 is the first vintage made and only 4000 btls were produced. The colour is pale ruby. Delicious nose of fresh raspberry, strawberry, flowers and some liquerice. Fresh and light taste with a perfect balance and soft tannins. Very elegant with ripe red fruit and a long aftertaste. Just super delicious. Vertebra 2017 Terroir sense Fronteres Montsant, Spain 370 NOK or 25€ Lys rød farge. Særdeles innsmigrende og lett aromatisk nese av friske bringebær jordbær, blomster, urter og lakris. Svært frisk i munnen med flott frukt, finslepne tanniner og flott tekstur....

This is a great 100% Grenache from a small area close to Priorat in Spain called Montsant. Alfredo Arribas is the producer of this wine which is only produced in 1985 bottles. This was bottle number 759. The nose has a fantastic intense and clean fruity smell. Red fruit, vanilla, roses, flowers. Super delicious taste with an elegant sweet and ripe fruit (bit like Zinfandel). A long and velvety full bodied taste with a nice acidity. Perfectly balanced and a wonderful length. The Grenache stems from 100 year pre-phylloxera vines and it's a truly great wine for 30-40 €. Try with steak. Tros Negre 2011 Alfredo Arribas Montsant

This is just a fantastic wine that I had with an entrecote the other day. 100% Carignan and super dark and complex wine. The producer Alfredo Arribas has made a wonderful dense wine. The production is limited to less than 2000 bottles. Deep dark colour and purple rim. Complex and attractive nose of dark fruit, leather, forrest, dark small berries (krekling). The taste is filled with fruit like dark berries and black currant. Big and long finish. Nice acidity and soft integrated tannins. A truly great wine with lovely balance. Tros de Clos 2011 Priorat 500NOK or 50€

In connection with Burgundy tasting of Rion wines we ended the session with this great 100% Grenache from a small area close to Priorat in Spain. Alfredo Arribas is the producer of this wine which is only produced in 1985 bottles. This was bottle nu 762. The nose has a fantastic intense and clean fruity smell. Red fruit, vanilla, with an amazing intensity. Super delicious taste with an elegant sweet and ripe fruit (bit like Zinfandel). Super soft wine with a long aftertaste. A truly great wine for only 400 NOK. Tros Negre 2011 Alfredo Arribas Montsant

Wine # 1 Pale red colour with Burgundy rim. Say no more. This is Pinot Noir! On the nose packed with sweet red fruit like raspberries , hint of chocolate and some dried fruit. Very soft smooth and fruity taste with absolutely no resistance. Velvety tannins and low acidity. Perhaps a bit jammy. Very drinkable wine and the panel concluded it has to be new world Pinot Noir! (and we were right....) Anthill Farms Pinot Noir 2012 Sonoma Coast Score 18,0 (Price 380 NOK or 50$) Wine # 2 Very similar pale red colour as wine no 1. On the nose more darker fruit with hints of pepper. More complex smell as well. Definitely Pinot Noir again. The taste is better with more structure and acidity although it is still a bit "jammy" with some spices. A complex wine and the panel is dithering between new world and Burgundy. We were told Burgundy and then I said it had to be a warm year, not Volnay and not Montille as the producer. and it was in fact all those things...!! ...

Medium dark red and purple rim. Very perfumed nose with flowers, dark berries, flowers  and hay. Very nice indeed. The taste does not match as it is slightly sweet, a bit of pepper, jammy and one feels the high alcohol. Some cherries as well. Totally different taste vs nose. Nice wine but not brilliant. Where and what...? Carinena, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah Les Terrasses 2010 Priorat Score 16,70 Ca 300 or 25€

Medium to light red colour. Discrete, but very nice bouquet of roses, flowers and some red berries. A just fantastic long and velvety full bodied taste with a nice acidity. Perfectly balanced and a wonderful length. Brilliant. Superb wine! Burgundy??? 100% Grenache from 100 year pre-phylloxera vines from Montsant (area around Priorat). Bottle 764 of 1985. Trossos Tros Negre 2011 Montsant Score 18,60 Ca 450 NOK or 40€

Deep dark colour and purple rim. Complex and attractive nose of dark fruit, leather, forrest, dark small berries (krekling). The taste is filled with fruit like dark berries and black currant. Big and long finish. Nice acidity and soft integrated tannins. A great wine with lovely balance. We give up.... 100% Carignan.. (Bottle 556 of 1856) Tros de Clos 2011 Priorat Score 18,70 500NOK or 50€

What a winterholiday! This is yet another wine that makes it to the top 2014 list. I first tried it in London during the Decanter Wine encounter in November last year and I was so ever so pleased when I found it again in the local wine shop. This Priorat wine by Alfredo Arribas is only produced in 1856 bottles and the one we had was bottle number 51… Wonderful dark ruby color and an amazing big and gorgeous taste that just goes on and on. Dark dense complex smell of blackcurrant, coffee, chocolate and spices. A truly great wine…! Tros de Clos 2011 Clos del Portal Priorat Ca 40€ or 440NOK

A stunning red from the Priorat region in Spain. Wonderful complex aromas of flowery strawberries with a hint of spicy chocolate. The taste is big and dense with a great balance and finish. A glorious wine. Arribat never disappoints and Spain is on a roll. There are so many good and complex wines from the different regions now that I am lost for words. Grenache, Carignan, Cabernet and Syrah in perfect harmony… Omg…. Negre de Negres 2011 Clos del Portal Priorat Ca 40€

Alfredo Arribas is the producer behind the wine company Portal del Priorat. He also makes wine from the small hilly wine region of Montsant some 100km west of Barcelona. This wine made from nearly 100 year old Grenache vines, pre-phylloxera, is a stunning example of the finesse that Arribas expresses in his wines. Medium ruby color, discrete nose of sweet strawberries and a hint of spicy chocolate. Super elegant balanced taste and finish. A superb, but expensive wine. A truly great experience and how some of the less than 2000 bottles found their way to the wine shop in Norway is beyond me. Tros negre 2011 Trossos Portal del Priorat Montsant Ca 50€ or thereabout

While at the Decanter wine fair in November 2013, we had two great and impressive Priorat wines from Clos del Portal. Both dark fruit on the nose and taste. Big dense wines with attractive tannins and beautiful balance. Super delicious stuff…. The first Tros de Clos was made in 2009 from old Carignan bush vines on the Licorella slate so typical of Priorat. Only 1000 bottles produced. A big wine with lots of tannins and depth. Impressive stuff from Alfredo Arribas. Tros de Clos 2011 Clos del Portal Priorat  Ca 45€

The Somni by Clos del Portal is a mix of Carignan, Grenache and Syrah. Again a stunning wine such depth and complexity that makes you realize that Spain is now really up and coming…. Explosion of Syrah on the nose. Very jammy, sensual, sexy with a great minerality. A truly lovely wine called dreams…..(somni) Somni 2011 Clos del Portal Priorat Ca 34€

This is a very silky wine from Priorat near Barcelona. A mix of grapes dominated by Carinena and Garnacha with minor amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Most of them from old vines. Deep purple colour and a lovely aroma of vanilla and blackcurrant. Very smooth and silky taste with soft firm tannins and a very good length. Impossible to dislike and very attractive. Les Terraces 2010 Velles Vinyes Priorat, Spain ca 20€ or 300 NOK (200 taxfree) 

Last, but not least, a big solid and complex wine from the llicorella soils of Priorat not too far from Barcelona. This is a "black" (dark) wine made from 75% Carinena and 25% Garnacha. Beautiful nose of ripe dark berries like blackcurrant, brambles, chocolate, vanilla and a bit of spice. A massive big taste; complex, long, fruity, big on tannins and alcohol but oh so smooth and elegant. A very concentrated wine which requires big solid red or wild food. Ferre Bobet 2006 Priorat Ca 360 NOK or 25€

Priorat wine region close to Barcelona is an emerging wine district with big fruity red wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha and Mazuelo. This Reserva from 2008 is no exception : Dark purple colour and a big dark fruity nose packed with cedar and leather. The taste is big and fruity packed with firm, but kind tannins. Complex medium long aftertaste. A wine perfect with BBQ meat. Rotllan Torra Reserva 2008 Priorat, Ca NOK 190 or 15€ Big and well balanced

Its getting wetter and colder...The hunting season is around the corner.... Its time to start digging for the more solid wines. Tosalet Old Vines from the small region of Priorat in Spain is created from hand harvested grenache, carignan and cabernet sauvignon. This has led to a wine that is dense, dark , solid and packed with black berries, spice and minerals. The tannins are surprisingly soft and the taste is big and elegant matching most dark or wild meat dishes. Not a wimpy wine ! Tosalet Old Vines 2007, Priorat, Spain ca 150 NOK, big wine at a reasonable price