Torres Cos Perpetual 2015

Description

There are no more than 1,200 cases of this dramatic Priorat, produced exclusively from vineyards planted prior to 1945. Until recently it was made from purchased grapes alone, as Torres didn't own vines that old - although recent vineyard purchases have changed that. The blend of 80% Carinyena and 20% Garnatxa 'isn't a blend we have decided,' says Torres's Jordi Foraster, 'but what our forebears decided 80 years ago. The reality is that Carinyena is the main variety here as it was the more regular producer, but they also wanted some Garnatxa, so they planted it all together. It gives us a lot of work as we have to pick the Carinyena 10-15 days after the Garnatxa, plant by plant.' It's a dark though not opaque wine with complex scents of elderberry and damson with further notes of chestnut, dark chocolate and fine leather. On the palate it's intense, deep, pure and dramatic: a dagger of fruit, honed by acidity. It's limpid, pure and long, structurally lighter than many of its peers but packed with perfumed refinement. Drinking window: 2018-2028. Score - 94. (Andrew Jefford, decanter.com, June 24, 2018)

Tasting Notes

Curiously enough, the 2015 Perpetual, the old-vine cuvée of Garnacha and Cariñena, had lower alcohol despite 2015 being a riper year than 2014. It was a very early harvest, and the juice fermented in stainless steel vat with indigenous yeasts followed by malolactic and 18 months in new French oak barrels. The two wines from 2015 show more finesse and balance than the 2014s, and this is the one with more character and complexity of the four wines I tasted. It shows Priorat character even though the oak is a little too obvious just now. But it has the concentration and balance to absorb the oak with a little more time in bottle. 18,840 bottles, 150 magnums and 50 double magnums were produced. It was bottled in September 2017. Drink Date: 2019-2025. Score - 93. (Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com, April 27, 2018 )

Tags

Full-bodied & Smooth, Grenache/Carignan, Red Wine, Wine, XD - Extra Dry