2016 Bodegas Mas Alta, Artigas Tinto, Priorat D.O.Q, Catalonia, Spain.
The luxurious and dense Mas Alta Artigas is a pure Priorat wine with dark ripe fruit from tiny yielding all organic vines set on a mix of schist, clay and limestone soils on steep rocky slopes, this wine is lush and modern with clean and well defined details. This wine is a well crafted effort from vines that range from 15 to 90 years old, these plots are also at between 250 to 450 meters above sea level which aids in retaining acidity and helping the overall balance here. The Bodegas Mas Alta is located in the village of La Vilella Alta, in the Priorat zone, is owned by Michel & Christine Vanhoutte, a couple from Belgium that fell in love with this region, and with a cellar led by three elite enologists Michel Tardieu, Philippe Cambie, one of France’s top consultants famous for his efforts in Chateauneuf du Pape and Bixente Oçafraim. The Artigas Tinto cuvée at Mas Alta has the highest percentage of Garnatxa at about 70% in their lineup, but also has small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and old-vine Carinyena (Carignan) that was aged in French oak for 16 months with about one third of the barrels being new that smooths out this powerful wine and adds a sexy sweet toastiness.
This vintage of Mas Alta Artigas was all hand harvested, with the grapes being partially de-stemmed, employing a natural yeast fermentation in concrete, with a 30 day maceration to extract all of the character of the wines. The 2016 shows rich blackberry, plum, boysenberry coulis and sweet cherry fruits along with hints of smoke, minty herbs, licorice, vanilla and creme de cassis. As mentioned this terroir is mostly very stony with a majority of the vines planted on dark schist, known locally as llicorella, with a few parcels also on clay-limestone soils all of which adds to the depth of complexity in the Mas Alta wines. I have had the Mas Alta Black Slate many many times, but this was my first time trying the Artigas and it turns out to be a real crowd pleaser with its inky purple color in the glass its very inviting and the smooth tannins, but the powerful full bodied feel grabs your attention. This is a textured and structured Priorat that certainly thrills those that enjoy the bolder style and lavish fruit, it is especially good with hard cheeses and brisket, its intense dark flavors go great with smoky and savory meat dishes. Of all the intriguing Spanish offers I’ve tried this week, this one got the best response from the majority of tasters, in fact this bottle lasted just a few minutes, it is easy to understand its appeal.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive