Ayres de Escal Priorat 2012

Way back when in 1194, a group of very clever monks decided to plant some Vitis Vinifera vines on the vertiginously steep slopes of Priorat. This was a great idea because the loose, granite-like 'llicorella' soil there is chuffing marvellous for Garnacha and Carignan. Fast forward 800 years to the 1990s and, after a long fallow period, a group of spunky young winemakers had the equally good idea of resurrecting the region's wine industry. They're making seriously good wine again, like this well-structured, raspberry jam-flavoured beauty. The monks would be proud.

Created in 1999, Reserva de la Tierra is a union of winemakers that controls the production of 2,000 hectares of vineyards in major wine regions of Spain such as Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Priorat, Terra Alta and Tarragona.

In third-generation winemaking tradition, Francisco Gimenez Martos, who emigrated to Argentina in 1949, to make wine in Mendoza, returned to Spain in 1972 and, together with Benedito Francisco Carbonell, created the first winery.

The estates where the grapes for this wine are grown are located on the steep slopes, on Llicorella; a loose granite-like soil typical of the Priorat region. The age of the vine stock varies from between 25 and 40 years.

The production of the wine begins with the monitoring of each vineyard plot through a process of tasting and scientific analysis, leading to the first selection of the grapes from the vineyard. The harvest is done by hand and the grapes are put in boxes. Once these grapes arrive at the winery, a second selection of grapes takes place.

The harvest from each plot is fermented in separate small stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature between 22 and 24C, with daily micro-oxidation and racking. This results in the extraction of excellent raw material, rich in colour and aroma. Afterwards, the wine undergoes ageing process in naturally dried French and American oak barrels with different toasted intensities for eight months, adding complexity, stability and maximum elegance to the wine.