Rogers & Company introduce the wines of Mas Doix, Priorat.
On a trip to Priorat in 2017, we were struck by how Carignan, a grape not often discussed in North American wine circles, was treasured among winemakers, with the best cuvées receiving the lion’s share of the best old vine fruit.
Indeed years ago, the Catalonian government initiated a pull-out program endorsing farmers to rip out their Carignan and plant Grenache and other preferred varietals. (Carignan is vigourous, and under certain vineyard practices, can produce a large quantity of fruit at diminished quality. As a result, much Carignan was made into “jug wine”. It gave the grape a poor reputation.)
When crop load is controlled, however, or when vines are very old, Carignan produces rich, round, full-bodied, vibrant wine with soft tannins and bright acidity. The best can age gracefully. These are special wines worth pursuing.
The story of Priorat’s Mas Doix winery begins in 1850 with Juan Extrems Doix, a passionate winemaker whose talent won him a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona in 1888 and a silver medal at the subsequent 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition. Wars, economics, and phylloxera prevented 150 years of unbroken vintages, but in 1998 the Doix and Llagostera families revived their estate near Poboleda, in southern Catalonia. The love and passion that the current generation has for the grapes grown in their hundred-year-old vineyards is the legacy that has continued until today.
The family estate’s wines capture the unique microclimate formed by the Montsant Mountains and the Mediterranean, where the hilly, rolling landscape and the unique schist llicorella soil contribute to the overall intensity of the region.
The wines of Priorat are dark and deep, full-bodied, and framed by oak. At the core, you’ll find a dense minerality. The top wines often use high proportions of Carignan, a once maligned (and now highly coveted) grape.
We’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of these wines in May 2018, and taking orders now.
If you’re new to Rogers & Company: Welcome! Most wines are sold in unmixed cases of 12, 6, or 3, depending on the item. Delivery is easy: We can bring the wine to your door, or you can stop by our office to pick up and meet the crew and the company dog. To place an order, follow the links to our website, give Chris McLean a call at 647-955-8872, or send him an email at c.mclean@rogcowines.com.
Mas Doix “Les Crestes” Priorat 2016
$42.95 per bottle, cases of 6
Made from hand-harvested fruit from Priorat’s exceptional 2016 vintage, this red wine is a blend of 80% Grenache (from 20-year-old vines), 10% old-vine Carignan, and 10% Syrah, all hand-harvested from the steep, llicorella soil vineyards. The wine was aged 8 months in second-fill French oak barrels.
“Colour: cherry, violet rim. Aroma: red fruit, ripe fruit, floral, herbs of the mountain, mineral. Palate: balanced, structured, tasty.” – 91***points, Guía Peñín 2018
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Mas Doix “Salanques” Priorat 2015
$74.95 per bottle, cases of 6
The Salanques vineyards are situated on pronounced slopes rich in the region’s characteristic llicorella slate soil. Embodying the balance and intensity typical of Priorat wines, Salanques is a blend of hand-harvested berries made from 65% Grenache, 25% Carignan (between 70 and 90 years old), and 10% Syrah. Following fermentation in stainless steel tanks, the wine was then aged for 14 months in French oak barrels.
The 2015 has yet to be reviewed, but the 2014 received 98 points from Decanter (World Wine Awards 2017) and 17/20 from JancisRobinson.com (Oct 2017).
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Mas Doix “Doix” Priorat Costers de Vinyes Velles 2014
$167.95 per bottle, cases of 6
Elegant and complex, this wine highlights the greatness that a wine made from very old Carignan can attain. Made from grapes coming from Carignan vines between 80 and 105 years old, the 2014 “Doix” is a blend of 55% Carignan and 45% Grenache. With a small but exceptional average production of 400 grams per vine, extended maceration for about 4 to 5 weeks resulted in great flavour concentration and body. Aged for 16 months in new French oak barrels, this is a rich, round, full-bodied red wine with soft tannins and bright acidity that will just get better with age.
“Colour: cherry, maroon rim. Aroma: powerful, candied fruit, mountain herbs, fine cocoa. Palate: balanced, full, tasty, structured.” – 94 points, Guía Peñín 2018
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Mas Doix “1902” Centenary Carignan 2014
$435.95 per bottle, cases of 1
Sure to be the centrepiece of any cellar, this jewel of a wine is 100% hand-harvested Carignan from 115-year-old vines. Following temperature-controlled fermentation with a total maceration period of about four to five weeks, the wine saw 16 months in new French oak barrels. This is a very exclusive wine with only three barrels made. The numbered bottles are sold in individual wooden cases.
“In the nose initially it shows a bit closed and it is necessary to be patient. It is a slowly opening wine and it takes up to 2 hours to start showing its initial records. Then forest fruit aromas appear with red currants, blueberries, fleshy and ripe blackberries, fine and elegant roasted aromas from the French barrel that delight us with a subtle perfume of vanilla pod, cinnamon powder, and the soft minerality that it is characterized by suddenly appears. The llicorella is gaining ground as the wine is opening but we still need to be patient. Mountain herbs with fresh balsamic aromas, licorice root and fresh eucalyptus gradually lighten its remarkable aromatic structure. It is worth noting that after a decanting of 4-5 hours the wine shows an impressive balance of aromas and a deep nature of ripe fruit, fresh violets, wet slate, grain spices and nutmeg… Everything in its purest state. In the mouth it has an excellent entrance with a sweet astringency, it shows powerful, structured and compact; a whole block that is slowly progressing with a remarkable breadth and volume, tasty and fleshy black fruit with black plums, blackcurrants and fleshy blackberries, firm tannins, although at times they are a bit unripe, the barrel roasted aromas are elegant although they still have to be integrated into the whole, elegant and round, balanced and very pleasant, silky texture that is maintained throughout the route and helps to accommodate its structure and vigourosity, long persistence. Very long final, ripe fruit aftertaste and mineral retro-nasal of wet llicorella and soft spicy sensations. Pure essence of the Priorat. A colossus!” – 98+ points, Demos Bertran
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