Torres : Perpetual 2019

Vibrant, almost glossy cherries with flowers and dark raspberries on the nose that extend to a juicy, lively palate. Full body. A hint of stones and game. Firm, dusty tannins melt into a long and precise finish. Juicy, tight and seamless. Outstanding! 80% carinena and 20% garnacha. Drink or hold.

Crafted from 100-year-old vines of Cariñena and Garnatxa, the 2019 Perpetual is an 85-15 blend from Priorat. Aged for 18 months in foudres and barrels, this garnet wine features balsamic and undergrowth notes, with hints of menthol, camphor, licorice and ripe red fruit. It is dry and ripe, with fine-grained tannins and a juicy flow. This is a compact yet plush Priorat.

The old-vine Priorat 2019 Perpetual was produced with vines older than 75 years of age (the requirement for the vinyes velles [old vines] category in the appellation), mostly Cariñena and 16% Garnacha from growers from different villages. It fermented in small stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts, and it now matures 100% in oak foudre, 2,000- and 2,500-liter ones, 30% of them new, for 17 to 18 months, and it shows better integration of the wood. The wine has 14.15% alcohol, and there is finesse and elegance with very good freshness from the old-vine Cariñena, all in "costers" (steep vineyards with no terraces). This is really impressive. There are only 150 hectares of 75+-year-old vines in Priorat, and this all comes from such vines. Impressive. It has the typicity of the old vines. There is a little more Garnacha because Cariñena always suffers in warm years. This wine was first produced in 2005 and was the top of the range until the single-vineyard 2016 Mas de la Rosa was released. 12,555 bottles, 133 magnums and 41 double magnums produced. It was bottled in August 2021.