2010, 2012, 2013 Clos Mogador Priorat Tasting Lot

Rene Barbier (Junior) kindly put together a blend of the five barrels that will go to constitute the 2010 Clos Mogador. It has a stricter, fresher bouquet than the 2009, with great minerality and sparkling precision. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins and wonderful purity. It exhibits notes of dark cherries, crushed stone, slate and touches of thyme and white pepper towards the finish, which has immense precision and focus. This is going to be a razor-sharp Clos Mogador – do not wait to place your order! (NM)

Gorgeous, amplified aromas of wild berry, plum and fine herbs are crystal clear and magnetic. This beautiful Priorat is layered, smooth as glass and exemplary in every way. Flavors of mixed black fruits, cocoa, toast and schisty mineral finish in a swirl of chocolate, blackened toast, licorice and peppercorn. *Editors' Choice, Best of Year 2013*

The 2012 Clos Mogador is nothing short of spectacular. They started in 1999 with some Cariñena, and they gradually increased the Garnacha and reduced the Cabernet. 2012 is possibly the vintage of Mogador with less Cabernet, as it didn't behave well in such warm year. René Barbier senior tells me it reminds him of the freshness of the 2000 that he generously uncorked for me to compare; they only have a handful of bottles for the old vintages! The nose of this 2012 is still little reticent but not reduced like many vintages in the past, slowly showing a great Mediterranean-Atlantic balance with notes of herbs, wet slate and graphite. The super-elegant palate offers great acidity and freshness with incredibly layered and delineated flavors that have an electric, mineral sensation with tension and really fine tannins. There are no traces of oak and no edges... rugged silk? This is a Mogador for decades. If this is always a bargain for the quality it delivers, it is even more so in 2012! (LG)

Glass-staining violet color. Explosive spice- and mineral-accented aromas of ripe black and blue fruits, incense, pipe tobacco and woodsmoke, joined by a sexy floral nuance. The fleshy, sweet, expansive palate offers concentrated blueberry and cherry compote flavors, along with suggestions of licorice and vanilla. Velvety tannins and superb clarity shape the seamless and lush but lively finish. This wine is now among the best in Priorat and has been moving in this direction steadily in recent years. (JR)

One of only two Vins de Finca Qualificada from Priorat, the 2013 Clos Mogador is a complex blend of Garnacha and Cariñena with a touch of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. It felt serious and a little backward, terribly balanced with shy notes of peat and graphite emerging with some time in the glass, subtle and complex, slowly revealing nuances of dark cherries, violets, black olives and later some red fruit. The palate is surprising: when I expected it to show its power, it just whispered and danced on my tongue with lively acidity that made it feel a lot lighter than it is. There is depth, elegance and incipient complexity. Here everything is in perfect harmony, with lots of everything, dry extract, acidity, alcohol and tannin, but somehow you don't notice any of it. A remarkable vintage of Mogador. (LG)

Saturated ruby. A complex bouquet evokes spice-accented red/dark berry preserves, potpourri and Asian spices, with a building vanilla nuance. Offers sappy, palate-staining raspberry, bitter cherry and lavender pastille flavors that show outstanding depth as well as energy. Five-spice powder, cola and vanilla notes build on an impressively long finish that features rounded tannins and a lingering floral quality. (JR)