Gratallops 2016

Gratallops is an ecological red wine from the Garnacha, Samsó (Cariñena) and other white varieties from the Álvaro Palacios winery, from DOQ Priorat, in Catalonia.

To make this "Vi de Vila" bunches from eleven parcels are used: Ermites, Torrent, Coll del Corral, Camp d'en Piqué, Socarrats, Carrerada, Les Sorts, Mas d'en Pallarès, Manyetes, L' Ermita and L' Hort de l'Olivar, located in Gratallops, wine region of Tarragona, Spain, composed of the region's characteristic slate (licorella) soils and whose vines are aged between 15 and 70 years.

Upon arriving at the winery, the bunches are de-stemmed and lightly trampled. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in small wooden vats with periodic punctures. The resulting wine ages for 16 to 18 months in oval tanks and French oak barrels, a type of large barrel.

This blend of two black grape varieties, Garnacha and Samsó, also contains a minimum percentage of white grapes grown in the area, such as Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo and Pedro Ximénez.

All the wines signed by Álvaro Palacios, the magician of Priorat, are a guarantee of elegance and refinement, elaborations that have made him a reference in international viticulture and are some of the most desired and valued wines in the world.

We present the new 2016 harvest, characterized by the wettest winter in the last five years. Not only did it rain in winter, but it rained until the beginning of summer, especially in March and April. In the summer everything changed and it was one of the driest in history as only 28 liters were recorded between July and October. If we compare the temperatures of 2012 and 2016, the 2016 harvest faced a much colder winter than the previous one. 2012, which turned out to be positive because the frost cleared the field of vine parasites. During spring, temperatures were also lower than in 2012. Due to all these weather conditions, there was a delay in bud opening, which started on March 28, and which led to a delay in flowering of three to four weeks. When summer arrived, all the luck arrived in Priorat as the rainfall disappeared while in the rest of Europe it continued incessantly. It was something no one expected, considering the winter we had. Taking into account the delay in germination, the harvest began in mid-October on some of the farms, resulting in fresh wines with extraordinary acidity due to the long duration of the grapes in the vineyard, which has characterized this harvest so much.