Editors notes
Vi d’altura, the equivalent of Grand Cru wine. There are two Vi d’altura, or pinnacle wines, produced here: Les Tosses and Les Manyes. These are Terroir al Límit’s finest Priorats, as tasted through the prism of Cariñena (for Les Tosses) and Garnatxa (for Les Manyes). They are simply two of the greatest red wines emanating from Spain today.
The 2-hectare Les Tosses vineyard sits on a stony ridge of deep, black slate soils to the northeast of the village of Torroja, at an incredible altitude of 650 metres. It is one of the very few ancient vineyards (the vines are more than 90 years old) at this height. The bush vines here are mainly Cariñena with a tiny percentage of Garnatxa. They face east, like watchmen guarding the valley, and are planted at a density of 6,605 plants per hectare. These vines, along with those of Les Manyes, receive the most intricate attention from the TaL team, with each vine attended to as a most prized possession.
Dominik Huber only uses the best portion of this ‘Grand Cru’ site for this bottling (the rest goes into the village wine). The fermentation was 100% whole bunches with indigenous yeasts. Pressing occurred halfway through the fermentation and then three-quarters of the wine went into a 1200-litre Stockinger cask for 20 months, the remainder to concrete. Such stunning complexity and finesse! Yes, it is not cheap, but it is one of Spain’s finest reds, and made in tiny quantities.
Details
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Light (Light)Full (Full)
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Low Tannin (Low Tannin)Tannic (Tannic)
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Sweet (Sweet)Dry (Dry)
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Low Acidity (Low Acidity)High Acidity (High Acidity)
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- Dusty
- Earthy
- Red Fruits
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Palate
- Earthy
- Red Fruits
- Savoury
Food Pairings
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Pork -
Red Meat
Critic Scores & reviews
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The Wine Advocate
97"The top Cariñena 2017 Les Tosses is a little riper than the 2018 I tasted next to it, but it also has a little more acidity and freshness and comes through as equally balanced. This south-facing vineyard was planted 90 years ago on black slate soils, and its orientations makes the grapes ripen thoroughly and achieve full flavors. Seventy percent of the volume still matured in oak foudres, but this percentage is going to go down to 50% in 2018; eventually, the wine will be aged exclusively in concrete, as is the case with all of their wines. This is expressive and tasty, and it has elegance and freshness within its serious profile. It's very balanced and has a mixture of floral, red and black fruit with some graphite quality and a Mediterranean touch of herbs, even esparto grass. 2,800 bottles were filled in October 2019"
Other vintages
Love this wine? Here's a list of other vintages we have in stock if you'd like to try them as well.
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- Variety Carignan
- Vintage 2018
- Brand Terroir Al Limit
- Cellaring Ready, but will Keep
- Wine Type Red
- Alcohol Percentage 13.0% Alcohol
Terroir al Limit Priorat Dits del Terra 2018-
James Suckling95 points
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The Wine Advoca95 points
$180.00 -
- Variety Carignan
- Vintage 2017
- Brand Terroir Al Limit
- Cellaring Ready, but will Keep
- Wine Type Red
- Alcohol Percentage 13.0% Alcohol
Terroir al Limit Priorat Dits del Terra 2017-
James Suckling95 points
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The Wine Advoca93 points
$180.00 -
- Variety Carignan
- Vintage 2017
- Brand Terroir Al Limit
- Cellaring Ready, but will Keep
- Wine Type White
- Alcohol Percentage 13.0% Alcohol
Terroir al Limit Priorat Terra de Cuques Negre 2017-
James Suckling94 points
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The Wine Advoca93 points
$89.99
Current auction
All current auctions for this wine & any different vintages.
Locations
Spain
Spain is definitely one of the new-world players to keep an eye on. It is the land of old-vines, american oak and sherry! The main varieties grown in Spain are Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache) in the reds, and Airén, Viura/Macabeo, Verdejo and Albarino for the whites. Lesser grown whites include Palomino. Other reds successfully cultivated include Carignan, Mourvedre and Mencia.
Although Spain can be quite a warm country, the vast majority of vineyards are 600m or so above sea level, so the cooler nights allow the grapes to develop full colour and acidity.
Rioja is undoubtedly the long-standing king of all the Spanish wine regions, where Tempranillo and Garnacha are commonly blended. However more recently many more regions have come to the forefront of interest. Ribera Del Duero is producing excellent Tempranillo blends rivalling those coming out of Rioja. Jerez in the South is the home of the fortified wine Sherry.
Spanish wine laws created the Denominación de Origen (DO) system in 1932 and were later revised in 1970. These include:
- Denominación de Origen Calificada (formerly called DOCa) Priorat calls itself DOQ for Denominació d'Origen Qualificada in Catalan and has a track record of consistent quality and is meant to be a step above DO level.
- Denominación de Origen (DO)- Used for mainstream-quality wine regions. Nearly two thirds of the total vineyard area in Spain is within the boundaries of a DO region.
- Vino de Calidad Producido en Región Determinada (VCPRD) - This is somewhat of a stepping stone to DO status.
- Vinos de la Tierra (VdIT) - A level similar to France's vin de pays system, where the regions are much larger.
- Vino de Mesa (VdM)- The equivalent of 'table wines' from France or Italy
Priorat
Priorat is a small wine region in Catalonia in Spain’s northeast corner. The region is known for its esteemed, intensely-flavoured red wines. This mountainside area enjoys long, hot, and dry summers with little annual rainfall. These are ideal grapegrowing conditions for the region’s primary – and late-ripening – grapes: Garnacha (or Grenache) and Cariñena (or Carignan). Almost all Priorat red wines contain some measure of these two grapes. In the best expressions of Priorat wines, expect aromas of red and black fruit, including redcurrant, red plum, black plum, black cherry, and blackcurrant. Toasty notes from new French oak are also often present. On the palate, you’ll find some minerality owing to the local licorella red-slate and mica soils, as well as saline and spice, such as cardamom and cinnamon. The wines are typically deep-coloured, with high tannin levels, moderate acidity, and high alcohol levels (usually 14% or higher ABV).
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