Priorat D.O.Q.

Priorat is a Denominació d’Origen Qualificada (DOQ in Catalan or DOCa in Spanish) for Catalan wines produced in the Priorat county, in the province of Tarragona, in the southwest of Catalonia.
The DOQ covers 11 municipalities. It primarily produces powerful red wines, which came to international attention in the 1990s. The area is characterised by its unique terroir of black slate and quartz soil known as llicorella.
It is one of only two wine regions in Spain to qualify as DOCa, the highest qualification level for a wine region according to Spanish wine regulations, alongside Rioja DOCa.
Priorat is the Catalan word, the one that appears most often on wine labels, while the Castilian equivalent is Priorato.
The Catalan authorities approved of Priorat’s elevation from DO to DOQ status in 2000, but national level confirmation from the Spanish Government came only on 6 July 2009.

Geography:
The DOQ comprises the valleys of the rivers Siurana and Montsant. The vineyards are planted on the slopes on terraces at altitudes of between 100 metres and 700 metres above sea level. Priorat is almost entirely surrounded by the DO Montsant, which makes wine in a similar style. The demarcated zone has a total size of 19,783 hectares (48,880 acres). The Priorat DOQ is formed around 12 towns/zones: Bellmunt del Priorat, Gratallops, el Lloar, la Morera de Montsant, Porrera, Poboleda, Scala Dei, Torroja del Priorat, la Vilella Alta and la Vilella Baixa, and the grape growing zones of Masos de Falset and Solanes del Molar.

Soils:
The area is of volcanic origin which confers interesting characteristics to the soil. The basis (called llicorella in Catalan) comprises reddish and black slate with small particles of mica, which reflects the sunlight and conserves heat. The 50 centimetres (20 in) thick topsoil is formed of decomposed slate and mica. These characteristics force the roots of the vines to reach the base for water, nutrition and minerals. These soil characteristics confer special quality to the wine and keep the vines firmly anchored to the earth during the strong winds and storms which are common to the area.

Climate:
Priorat DOQ covers a small area, however there are several different micro-climates present. Generally, the climate is more extreme than most continental climate areas, though there is a marked contrast between the valleys and the higher areas. There are both freezing winds from the north (mitigated somewhat by the Serra de Montsant mountain range) and also the warm Mistral wind from the east.
Declared a nature park in 2002, the Montsant Natural Park is a veritable symbol of the Priorat and of southern Catalonia. It is a compact massif, largely surrounded by cliffs and rocky slopes made up of Oligocene conglomerates. To get up there, choose your grau, one of the ways up and through the cliffs. Some are relatively easy, following old mule tracks, while others are only passable on foot, with dizzying views. From the top there are magnificent views, over all the villages nestling at its foot.
Priorat has a long growing season. The summers are hot and dry with temperatures as high as 35 °C, while the winters are cold with temperatures as low as −4 °C. There is the occasional risk of frost, hailstones and drought. The average annual temperature is 15 °C, and the annual rainfall is between 400–600 millimetres.

Grapes:
The traditional grape variety grown in El Priorat is the red Garnatxa negre, which is found in all the older vineyards. Also authorized are the following red varieties: Garnacha Peluda, Cariñena (or Samsó), Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Four white varieties are also authorized: Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo, Pedro Ximénez and Chenin.
The trend among the red varieties is that Garnacha stays constant, Cariñena decreases and the international grape varieties increase. While Cabernet Sauvignon has always been in the lead among these, in recent years, Syrah has increased faster.
Yields are very low, usually much lower than the authorized maximum yield of 6,000 kg/ha, due to the rocky nature of the soil that does not allow the accumulation of water. The vines are usually planted as low bushes (en vaso) though the newer vineyards tend to be planted on trellises (en espaldera).
As of 2018, Priorat had 2,010 hectares (5,000 acres) of vineyards, of which 1,872 hectares (4,630 acres) or 93% was planted with red varieties, and 138 hectares (340 acres) or 7% with white varieties. The average planting density was 2,850 vines per hectare, compared to the mandated 2,500 to 9,000 vines per hectare.

The traditional reds from El Priorat are a single grape (“varietal”) bottling of Grenache or Carignan, or a blend of these two grapes in a Bordeaux style with other French varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Syrah, among others.
• Criança wines must remain in oak barrels for 6 months and then 18 months in the bottle.
• Reserva wines must remain in oak barrels for 12 months and then 24 months in the bottle.
• Gran Reserva wines remain in oak barrels for 24 months and then 36 months in the bottle.