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Terroir al Limit Les Tosses 2011  - First Bottle

Reviews

97 Robert Parker's Wine -
The 2011 Les Tosses is a Carinena from a single vineyard, their Grand Cru, produced with the grapes from a steep slope with slate soil at 650 meters altitude. The wine aged in a foudre, managed to handle the extreme heat of 2011 very well and shows very a fresh, floral and elegant nose, compact, with subtle aromas of violets and blueberries. Very aromatic (pomegranate?), it has a creamy texture with some spices and a medium-bodied palate with round tannins, very fresh, with very good acidity and balance. Somehow it feels fresher than the 2010 version of this wine. A (powerful) Carinena that whispers, a very impressive elegant and authentic Priorat. This is a tour de force for Carinena in a warm vintage. Amazing! Drink 2015-2022. South African Eben Sadie of Sadie Family winery (Columela) fame and German Dominik Huber are the names behind this outstanding tiny winery in the village of Torroja. They both arrived in Priorat and were captivated by the place. Sadie returned to his homeland, but Huber never did. In fact, his French wife lives and works with him in Torroja where they live with their two-year-old son. His motivation is food and gastronomy, so he needs to produce wines that go well with food. He gets ripe grapes without very high alcohol; all vineyards are worked organically and all wines are below 14% alcohol. While I tasted 2010 and 2011 it was impossible not to talk about 2012, and especially the recent 2013 which, despite being disastrous in many parts of Europe, seems to be nearly perfect in Priorat. According to Huber, 2013 is the best vintage he’s ever seen, very relaxed and long, with vineyards maturing little by little. In the last few years he has developed some very strong ideas, and I feel a big change in the wines starting with the 2010 vintage, with much more elegance, less wood (really imperceptible, very well-integrated): He does not believe in 225-liter barriques in Mediterranean regions, oak works better in bigger volumes in Priorat; they are progressively moving to foudres. Priorat has to be organic and the soils have to be alive. He reckons hydric stress is responsible for many of the harsh tannins that you find in many reds. There will be new wines offered in the future, a whole new line of wines, with more whites and light wines. You will see very little (if any) technical details in my tasting notes as basically all the reds are vinified with full clusters and aged in used 500-liter and foudres. I tasted a really breathtaking collection of wines here, both whites and reds. Terroir al Limit is one of the names that are defining the Priorats of the 21st century. Unfortunately the wines are produced in small quantities and the prices are high.
97 Falstaff -
Dark ruby ??garnet, opaque core, violet reflections, subtle water rim. Initially leafy and herbal, full of dark stony nuances, a kind of liquefied slate, fine balsamic nuances, ripe Amarena cherries, black wild berry confit, smoky sweetness, slowly opens in the glass. Firm body, tightly meshed and focused, silky mineral texture, structure rich in finesse, fresh and elegant, extract sweetness with a Burgundian appeal, still hides a lot that will surface over time, great potential for development.
94 Vinous -
(100% carinena from a 1.2 hectare plot of 72 year old vines; aged in 1800-liter oak casks for two years): Brilliant ruby. Intense scents of red berries, lavender, Asian spices and minerals on the highly oerfumed nose. Very concentrated and juicy but lithe as well, with juicy acidity giving energy and lift to the black raspberry and floral pastille flavors. Closes with building smokiness, crackling minerality and smott, harmonious tannins.
93 James Suckling -
A minerally and freshly, fruity red with hints of blueberries and blackberries. Full body, firm and silky tannins, and a long and fresh finish. Shows style and finesse. Drink or hold.

Technical Details

  • BlendCarinena
  • WinemakerDominik Huber
  • CountrySpain
  • RegionCatalonia
  • AppellationPriorat
  • Oak500 L used foudres
  • Alcohol13.5%

Terroir al Limit Les Tosses 2011

Other Reds  |  Spain
WA97, FS97, VN94, JS93

17% off retail!
Too late, we are SOLD OUT!
Top cuvee from mountainside vineyards. This is their Grand Cru, if there was such a thing. "very impressive elegant and authentic Priorat. This is a tour de force for Carinena in a warm vintage. Amazing! " WA

About the Producer

When Eben Sadie and Dominik Huber first met in 2001 at Mas Martinet, Eben was a promising and highly-regarded young enologist from South Africa and Dominik, German by birth, was a wine enthusiast with a background in business administration and an interest in the culinary arts. In short order they became fast friends. With the help of the Perez family of Mas Martinet, Eben and Dominik purchased some fruit and leased a little corner in the cellar of Cims de Porrera where they vinified their first vintage of Dits del Terra in 2001. After two years at Cims de Porrera they moved into a tiny cellar in Torroja del Priorat. The move coincided with the first vintage of Arbossar in 2003. In the following years they released additional cuvees: Torroja in 2005, Manyes and Tosses in 2006, Pedra de Guix in 2008 and Terra de Cuques in 2011. Throughout the decade since its founding, Terroir al Limit has evolved in its understanding of the Priorat - coming to view it as a region similar to Burgundy in its complexity and potential to produce elegant and transparent wines.