CATALONIA – SPAIN
René Barbier, descendent of a renowned family of French winemakers came to the Priorat when the wines of the area were completely unknown. He was the first of a group of pioneers who made the New Priorats and has worked successfully towards recovering the region’s unique terroir.
In 1979, he purchased a small plot of vineyard in the village of Gratallops which he planted with more Grenache, Carignan and some Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. This was the beginning of his Clos Mogador project. It also became Catalonia’s first officially recognised “Vi de Finca” (roughly this is a single vineyard, domain bottled wine certification and is a very prestigious qualification in Spain) which has added to the DOCa. Priorat’s fame. “Vi de Finca” guarantees that all grapes used to make the wine have been sourced exclusively from the Clos Mogador single vineyard for at least the last five years.
A few years later, René purchased a further 20 hectares in the guise of Manyetes (vi de vila Gratallops) and Nelin (a white wine). Forever obsessed by terroir, René strives to reveal the classic characteristics of this wine region and confesses that he has a weakness for Grenache.
All informations about the different cuvées from René Barbier and his team are available here : Clos Mogador and Espectaclevins
