Sense Fronteres Guix Vermell

The Montals vineyard, planted with Garnacha some 60 years ago, is located at the top of the Montsant vineyard after the Mas Deu part of Priorat once you cross the border into Montsant. So, the grapes that go into the 2017 Montals were sourced from basically the same terroir as Les Manyes from Priorat, which is why this wine can have so much in common with the Les Manyes bottling from Terroir al Limit. The full clusters fermented in amphorae for about one week to ten days, then they were pressed and put back in the amphorae, where the wine was kept until bottling. This is the more powerful and energy-loaded red here, a little more Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Proprietor Dominik Huber told me he does not want to offer the same quality as Les Manyes at a cheaper price, so he set the same price for it. I do not get the same complexity and depth I get from Les Manyes here (and I also previewed the components of the hypothetical Les Manyes the same day I sampled this), even if it's very elegant, fine and long, with a refined palate and a velvety texture. It's lively and vibrant, without the earthy character I get from many amphora wines. It's a pure expression of Garnacha on red clay and limestone soils at high altitude, in a cool part of the appellation. The wine felt relaxed and harmonious. The flavors have great purity and definition, and the wine is very long. A very impressive debut. They expect to fill some 1,000 bottles in March 2018, but the wine won't be released until after one year in bottle.