Clos i Terrasses Clos Erasmus Priorat 2021

Clos Erasmus is one of the founding estates of modern-day Priorat and among the most important wineries of the last 35 years across the globe. This ancient but forgotten wine region roared to life in the late 1980s with a singular wine–labeled by five different estates, including the founding Clos Erasmus. And Priorat has never been the same. Founder Daphne Glorian had left her day job working under an English Master of Wine and went all in on 17 terraces of vines in the warm, rich soils of Gratallops. Now, 35 years later, the wines produced here rival the best anywhere...with frequent and favorable comparisons to the best of Bordeaux’s First Growths.

The blend here is 70% garnacha and 30% syrah, from vines 40-85 years of age. The vineyards have been organically farmed since the beginning, and though they’ve practiced biodynamic farming practices since 2004, they never received certification. The 2021 vintage was definitely an outlier for Priorat – far cooler than usual, with nearly two feet of snow falling on the vineyards over the winter. Despite that, flowering gave way to a huge potential crop, and a cool but extremely lengthy growing season allowed a bountiful and flavorful crop to mature perfectly. Daphne says the 2021 is “delicate, flowery, with strong acidity and tremendous aging potential” and we couldn’t agree more. 15% alcohol Priorat would scarcely be described as “ethereal”, or “elegant” – and yet, those are just the words used by BOTH Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate in their 99-point rating and Falstaff in their 100-point review.

This is one of the most collectible, cellar-worthy red wines in Spain...and beyond. The 2021 is already talked up as one of the estate's best efforts to date – and when you consider the number of 100-point wines in the arsenal here – that is mighty praise, indeed. Super limited, as you might guess, with only about a dozen cases, and a small handful of magnums! Make one or two yours today, and never look back! Ten, twenty, thirty years from now – this is an all-time collector’s item that will only increase in reputation as time marches on.

PAIRING IDEAS: Have you heard about the new top steak featured by the best chefs in the finest restaurants across the globe? Better than Wagyu, some say – and would you believe it? It’s old, grass-fed, dairy cows. It bucks the convention of all we thought we knew about great steak – just as this Priorat does in the world of wine.