A lively, enticing red, with a fragrant skein of graphite and exotic spice winding through flavors of black cherry and black plum reduction, minerally iron, licorice drop and dried lavender. Medium- to full-bodied and fresh, with firm, chalky tannins providing fine definition and chewy texture on the lasting finish. Grenache and Carignan. Drink now through 2031. 626 cases made, 18 cases imported.??–AN??Region: Spain / Priorat Select to Add

Even more impressive than the Coma Vella was the 2016 Clos Fontà, from one of their finest vintages ever. It has the character of the dusty roads from Priorat, the decayed slate and the Mediterranean forest, a polished palate with abundant fine-grained tannins, lively acidity and great balance. This should continue developing in bottle for a long time. This blend of 60% Garnacha and 40% Cari?ena produced 7,518 bottles that were filled in May 2018 after maturing in barrel and foudre for 14 months.

I think there is a jump in finesse and precision in the 2015 Clos Fontà, their old-vine red produced with a selection of the best old vines every vintage. It's 60% Garnacha and 40% Cari?ena from 50- to 95-year-old vines mostly on llicorella slate soils but also some on limestone, on 30% to 40% slopes that are facing east. It fermented in 500- and 1,500-liter oak vats, as each plot is fermented separately with indigenous yeasts; the wines were blended after malolactic in their old underground concrete pools. It matured in French and Austrian 225-liter barriques and 1,500-liter oak vats for one year. It has notes of licorice and fennel, so typical from this part of Priorat, giving it a very Mediterranean profile, and it's spicy and earthy, with ripe fruit but without excess. The palate is medium to full-bodied and reveals abundant, fine-grained tannins and a nice combination of elegance and rusticity. Again, very Priorat but without the excesses from the past. 5,868 bottles were filled in May 2017.

As classical as it gets, the red 2014 Clos Fontà, a selection of the oldest vines from their 40 hectares of vineyards, is a blend of 60% Garnacha and 40% Cari?ena from vines planted between 1931 and 1973 on slate soils. It fermented in oak vats and matured in French and Austrian oak barrels and 1,500-liter vats for some 14 months. It has the Priorat character reminiscent of wet slate as well as wild berries, a floral touch, a tree bark-like twist and an unusual elegant rusticity. The palate is medium to full-bodied with ripe flavors but without excess, hints of Mediterranean herbs and flowers and a dry, long and austere finish with no room for sweetness. 6,138 bottles were filled in May 2016.