Priorat

Priorat is a tiny, remote wine region in Catalonia producing some of Spain's most powerful and expensive red wines from ancient Garnacha and Carinena vines growing in llicorella soil: a unique mixture of black slate and mica that forces vines to dig deep for water. The region was rescued from obscurity in the 1980s by pioneering winemakers including Alvaro Palacios, whose L'Ermita commands prices rivalling Bordeaux's finest. Priorat was elevated to DOC status (the highest classification) in 2000.