92 Points for this delicious red from Spain’s Priorat
Black Slate 2012
Each year I eagerly await the arrival of the Black Slate wine from Spain’s Priorat wine region. The Black Slate is a special project of importer Eric Solomon wine selections. Each year he works to find the right combination of vineyards and winemakers to produce a bottle of wine that reflects the terroir of the Priorat. His goal is to keep the price around $20 a bottle. The Black Slate 2012 arrived last week at KL Wines. I purchased one bottle to try and quickly followed it with a case order from KL Wines. Simply put, this is a rich and complex bottle of wine that is excellent to drink now and over the next few years. The Black Slate is 15% alcohol but drinks very smooth with a delicate and long finish. The dark fruit flavors are bolstered by a touch of the soil characteristic of the Priorat region. The Priorat soil is totally slate. It is very dark in color and thus the origin of the label “Black Slate.” The Black Slate is 60% Garnacha (same as Grenache) and 40% Carignane, and all organically farmed. The wine was aged in concrete tanks. If this wine came from the Napa Valley, it certainly would be priced above $50. That is how good it tastes. Previous vintages of this wine have sold out at KL Wines within weeks. Usually the Spanish Table in Berkeley and Mill Valley carry this wine, but it has not yet shown up on their inventory. Robert Parker rates it 93 Points and says, “For a relatively expensive Spanish appellation, this is an outright steal!” I rate it at 92 Points and a “Case Worthy” wine.
Priorat Slideshow
This slideshow will give you a glimpse of the Priorat: the soil, vineyards, and cellar methods. We visited the Priorat D.O. (appellation) in October of 2013. These are a few of my photographs I took of the Priorat.
Joe,
I couldn’t agree more. I recently attended a Black Slate tasting at my favorite local wine shop. We ended up buying a mixed case (20% discount) of the 2012 Porrera, 2012 La Vilella Alta, and 2013 Gratallops. All are outstanding in their own right, but are exceptional at a sub $20 pricetag. Great recommendation.
This wine has the body and aromas of a red burgundy. Exceptionally smooth and easy on the palate. I love it for the complex aromas and flavors that spill from the glass. Great buy for the money.