At Savage Vines we provide our readers with amazing content on wine and the wine regions which we support. We have written a lot about the Spanish wine region Montsant in the past and sell a lot of their delicious wine. Below is a list of our top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat. In no particular order here we go!

#1 BODEGAS PINORD – CLOS DEL MUSIC

If you’ve read our previous posts then you’ll know that we also love music, so a natural wine called Clos Del Music is a match made in heaven for us!

Number one on our list of top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat is this full-bodied red wine. A wonderful blend of Cab Sav, Garnacha, Carinena, Merlot and Syrah grapes all harvested from Demeter certified vineyards. It is brimming with complex aromas such as liquorice, blackberries and light smoke due to the fourteen months the wine has spent ageing in French oak.

You will find a perfect balance between rich plum, blackberry aromas and tertiary notes of cigar smoke and toast from the oak. For a wine that is 14.5% it’s somewhat ‘light’. The Merlot helps bring an ‘earthiness‘ to this wine, while still remaining full of fruit and spice due to the Syrah.

We love Clos Del Music. The 2016 in particular is great to drink now, however because of the blend of grapes and high tannin content, this wine should be good to age for another 5-10 years.

#2 VENUS LA UNIVERSAL – DIDO

You may remember us mentioning this wine in our Montsant Wine Guide. This Garnacha based blend is packed full of body, flavour and texture. It’s a homage to youthfulness. Venus La Universal focus on sustainable winemaking, and make really delicious wine in the process. It was a no-brainer to include them in our top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat.

We recommend drinking their 2012 vintage. It’s had enough time in the bottle to develop lovely maturity, whilst retaining a youthful feel.

#3 BODEGA MAS ALTA – LA BASSETA

This is a powerful red not to be drunk lightly. It has all the hallmarks of classic Priorat red wine – full bodied, high alcohol and bursting with rich fruit flavours. The base grape of La Basseta is Carinena, harvested from old vines (circa 100 years old), blended with Garnacha and a little bit of Cabernet Sauvignon. With this in mind, expect a high concentration of flavours due to the low yield of grapes from the vines. That’s why it makes it onto our top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat list.

We love La Basseta, it’s truly a fabulous expression of Priorat, coming out of a relatively young winery (Mas Alta was founded in 1998). The 2015 vintage is drinking particularly well at the moment.

#4 GALILEA BY FIONA – PYTHAGORA

You simply have to try Pythagora – an easy choice for our top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat. We featured this in our Montsant Wine Guide. This bottle is 100% Grenache/Garnacha and packs beautiful fresh red fruit and spice flavours. The 2014 has matured and developed rich leather notes that add further complexity to the wine.

Galilea is an amazing collaboration by a young wine lover called Fiona Fischer and Priorat wine legend René Barbier. They have such an understanding of each other’s vision and commitment to expressing the local terroir, which is evident when you taste the wine. It’s for these reasons why Pythagora makes it onto top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat list.

Partial to Pythagora? Well you can buy the wonderful 2014 by clicking here. You won’t be disappointed!

#5 VINICOLA DEL PRIORAT – ONIX EVOLUCIO

Next on our list of top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat is Onix. This is a wonderful example of good co-operative wine. Don’t take our word for it though, Robert Parker (The Wine Advocate) awarded the 2016 vintage 90 points out of a possible 100!

This is a beautiful blend of manually harvested Carinena, Cabernet Sauvignon and Garnacha Negra, sourced from over 300 small vineyards. It’s juicy, rich, high in alcohol, yet very easy drinking.

The grapes are harvested by hand and transported in 15kg boxes to reduce the risk of splitting the skins, starting the fermentation process prematurely.

We love Onix, but don’t just take our word for it, Onix Evolucio is also available at one of our favourite restaurants in Falset, ‘El Cairat’

#6 CLOS MOGADOR – MANYETES

If you’ve read our previous Montsant Wine Guide then you’ll be familiar with Clos Mogador and their Manyetes range. It’s a thing of beauty.

The Carignan grapes struggle to survive because of poor soil and very intense sunlight however, the Ebro river provides them with a bit of humidity which helps the vines produce enough quality fruit. Small quantities of Garnacha Negra are then added at the end. This results in a complex, yet subtle, full bodied wine, high in tannin but with lovely femininity. It was always going to be on our list of top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat.

Fancy a trip to Clos Mogador? Well click here to see their tour schedules and pricing!

#7 CELLER COMUNICA – LA PUA WHITE

This wine makes it onto our top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat because of its freshness. It’s full bodied and made almost entirely of Garnacha Blanca, with just a little bit of Garnacha Negra added. It was aged in stainless steel, on lees, which adds complexity to the wine. Expect a full bodied white wine with excellent acidity and thirst quenching citrus and tropical fruit!

La Pua White is special because it is Celler Comunica’s first white. Winemakers Pep Aguilar and Patri Morillo made white wines for other wineries for years, and wanted to produce their own. We’re pleased that they did! A lock for our top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat.

Love the sound of La Pua White? Well click here to see where you can get it!

#8 CELLER AGRICOLA FALSET, MARÇA – ETIM BLANC

We previously mentioned going to visit the old cooperative winery in our Montsant Wine Guide because of the cathedral-style design it has. However they produce incredible wines, so naturally they get a mention on our top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat list.

Etim blanc is Garnacha Blanc based, blended with Macabeu and a little hint of Chardonnay. Lees ageing in French oak barrels gives it a completely different taste/texture to La Pua (Wine #7). It has a full body and it’s got a well-made croissant like mouthfeel, being soft and creamy. This is complimented by aromas of almond and citrus fruit.

Love the sound of Etim Blanc? It’s on the list at Celler de L’aspice, one of our favourite restaurants!

#9 ACUSTIC CELLER BLANC

The first thing you’ll notice about is the rich concentration of flavour. The wine is from Garnacha Blanc, Xarello (aka Pansal) and Macabeu harvested from old vines, ranging from 40-80 years old.

The fermentation process of this wine starts in stainless steel tanks, then transferred to French oak barrels for three months. Stainless steel fermentation helps bring out the zesty and citrus fruit aromas, whereas the new French oak gives the wine slight oak and savoury notes. The 2016 is complex and has been responsibly produced.It was awarded 91 out of 100 by veteran wine writer José Peñin. There’s no way we could leave it off our top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat.

Love the sound of Acustic Blanc? Contact them about getting a bottle here

#10 TERROIR AL LIMIT – ARBOSSAR

Last, but by no means least on our list of top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat is Terroir Al Limit. This gem from 2016 is a beautiful organic certified, single varietal Carinena grapes, harvested from 60-90 year old vines. Terroir Al Limit’s philosophy is modelled on Burgundy’s. They try to identify unique places in Priorat and reveal them in the bottle in the most authentic way possible.

With this wine expect rich, deep dark fruit flavours. It has a lovely ‘funky‘ aroma to it due to the bio-dynamic practices during all stages of production (read our guide to the best natural wineries in Catlaunya for more info, even more wines outside of our top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat). Black cherries are very prevalent and it is definitely a full-bodied wine, however it remains smooth and perfectly balanced. That’s why it rounds up our top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat.

Does Arbossar sound Ar-mazing? Have a look at the full range from Terroir al Limit here

We hope you enjoyed this list of top 10 wines from Montsant and Priorat. If you’d simply just like to learn more about wine from the comfort of your own home, be sure to check out our online blog and sign up to our mailing list. We’re always looking to teach people about different regions, grape varieties and producers. Beyond that, you can expect to find a whole host of playlists, cocktail cards and recipe cards packed full of wine pairing ideas. There might even be some special offers along the way so make sure that you don’t miss out!