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Clos Erasmus Priorat Laurel Clos I Terrasses 2018  - First Bottle

Reviews

96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
The second wine here and one that is easier to drink, the 2018 Laurel was produced with fruit from the younger vines, a couple of barrels that are declassified from Clos Erasmus and the Cabernet Sauvignon, more or less 70% Garnacha and 15% each Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. It has good ripeness and still a pH of 3.3. It fermented mostly in oak vats and 2,000-liter concrete vats with indigenous yeasts and matured for 18 months in 20,000-liter oak and concrete vats, second use barriques and some clay amphorae. It's a bright translucent ruby color and has a perfumed and delicate nose with notes of orange peel and flowers; this is the most elegant and ethereal vintage of Laurel as far as I can remember, with red rather than black fruit and a kind of cranberry quality. The palate is medium-bodied, textured and fluid, with subtleness, balance and very fine tannins. The oak is perfectly integrated, and the wine is easy to drink, approachable and very pleasurable right now. It's a fresh vintage with energy and finesse, quite different from previous vintages. I love it. 22,825 bottles and 515 magnums produced. It was bottled in May 2020.

Technical Details

  • Blend75% Garnatxa, 20% Syrah, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
  • CountrySpain
  • RegionCatalunya
  • AppellationPriorat

Clos Erasmus Priorat Laurel Clos I Terrasses 2018

Proprietary Blends  |  Spain
WA96

36% off retail!

Clos Erasmus is one of the founding estates of modern-day Priorat. This ancient but forgotten wine region roared to life in the late 1980s with a singular wine – labeled by five different estates, including Erasmus. Now, 35 years later, the wines produced here rival the best anywhere. This cuvee, dubbed “Laurel”, is a fantastic take on the Catalan answer to Châteauneuf du Pape. 96 POINTS (and the previous four vintages all received 95s) give one an idea about the pedigree of these wines! BEST PRICE IN THE U.S.!

Based on the “younger” grenache vines on the estate, this wine also blends in some 20% syrah and 5% cabernet sauvignon into the final mix, (though there has been less cabernet sauvignon each year). While the estate’s flagship wine is grippy and overpowering in its youth (suitable for aging as one would a first-growth Bordeaux), this offering showcases a beautiful approachability – with floral notes of hibiscus and rose, leading into a myriad of spicy red fruits, orange peel, and a crunchy, vibrant minerality. There is a hint of new oak influence to add weight to the mouthfeel and grant polish to the intensity of the fruit – yet this is an unmistakably fresh and lively zip, just screaming to be released into your glass.

Aged for 18 months in a combination of wood and concrete vats, plus once and twice-used barrels, with a dollop of ceramic amphorae for good measure – each vessel imparts its own stamp on the wine that is unified and integrated through the terroir orchestrating presence of Gratallops’ warm, rich soils. 96 points from Wine Advocate is the highest score to date on this remarkably consistent over-achiever. At our price – nearly 40% off the retail – this is an absolute must-have. Put this next to your favorite Châteauneuf-du-Pape producers, and we guarantee you’ll be blown away by the quality and value here!

About the Producer

In 1988 Daphne Glorian, at the time employed by an English Master of Wine in his Paris office, was in the throws of epic folly and spent her life’s savings on 17 terraces of hillside vines just outside the village of Gratallops. Newly minted friends René Barbier and Alvaro Palacios encouraged her and together with Carles Pastrana and Jose Luis Perez, they pooled their talents and resources to make a new style of wine in a region rich in history and raw materials but without much of a proven track record for fine wines. In 1989 the modern Priorat was born: one wine but five different labels, each which would one day become known around the world: Clos Mogador, Clos Dofi, Clos Martinet, Clos de l’Obac and Clos Erasmus. Today Daphne’s property goes by the name Clos i Terrasses in recognition of the Clos upon which her fame was established and the terraces that she farms. The estate is planted with 75% Garnatxa, 20% Syrah and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.