The 2011 Clos Mogador feels ripe, serious and young. Rene Barbier likes to pick ripe grapes but without any raisins making it into the vats. The wine is a blend of the different grapes in his Clos Mogador vineyard (it's just one of a handful of wines officially awarded the single-vineyard label by the Catalan wine institutions): Garnacha, Carinena, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. But the wine speaks more of the place than the grapes, with notes of slate, thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender, black cherries and a supple palate, full-bodied, with pungent flavors, round, velvety tannins and a long aftertaste. This is a superb effort for such a warm vintage, the warmest and driest in Priorat since 2003, and great value for the quality. 30,000 bottles are produced of this prodigious, powerful but balanced Priorat. Drink 2015-2025. Score - 96. (Luis Gutierrez, erobertparker.com, Feb. 2014)
