‘You have more than 200 wines in front of you, all examples of their region and their grape variety. And you only have two nights to try them all, what can you do? ‘ So they presented from the pages of the prestigious Wine Spectator magazine one of the highest level wine tastings at an international level: the Critics’ Choice Grand Tastings. The event, held on 20 and 21 October, was part of the program of the 41st edition of the New York Wine Experience, a meeting that every year brings together lovers of good wine to meet and taste the best vintages, the best references of the year. Only the wineries expressly invited by the magazine participate in the event, with all tickets sold out and a waiting list. Among these, the Mervm Priorati winery with its Desti wine 2018.
The last day was reserved for the presentation of the Top Ten Best Wines, the Olympus of the ten best wines, where Destí 2018 appeared as the 4th best wine in the world, according to Wine Spectator experts. Pere Ventura, owner of the winery and president of the Grupo Pere Ventura Family Wine Estates (PVFWE)together with the oenologist of Merum Priorati, Roger Oferil, he participated in the event representing this exceptional wine which places the Merum Priorati winery at the level of other prestigious ones such as Château d’Yquem, Château Haut-Brion or Château Margaux.
Vines from the Mervm Priorati winery
A Priorat wine among the top 5 in the world
The event put the finishing touches on a magnificent year that began last December when Wine Spectator magazine, a world authority in the world of wines, elevated Mervm Priorati Destí 2018 to number 4 on its list of the 100 best wines in the world. With a score of 95 out of 100 and standing out among the more than 12,500 wines tasted, the winery that Pere Ventura has in Priorat has made history in the ever-demanding universe of oenology.
Thomas Matthews, member of the magazine’s senior editorial team, did not hesitate to say that “the Priory is one of the best kept secrets in Spain”. He recalled how the monks produced great wines in this region as early as the 12th century and how over the centuries the wineries went into decline until “in the 20th century a group of pioneers revitalized the region. Since then, new wineries have raised the quality of their wines to a world level ”.
A wine with a touch of modernity, aged in French oak barrels, with mineral notes and mountain herbs “
While his imagination flew through the vineyards of that Catalan region, in his hands he exhibited a glass of Destí 2018, rewarding that deserved 4th place “for its quality and expression of the terroir”. With a limited production of 8,778 bottles, Destí 2018 is a blend of Grenache and Cariñena from Finca La Plana Marjot and Syrah from Les Escomelles. “A wine with a touch of modernity, aged in French oak barrels, with notes of minerals and mountain herbs”, described Matthews. “Many Priorat wines cost more than $ 100, which makes Destí not only an excellent wine, but also a true value,” concluded the expert.
In addition to Destí, Mervm Priorati also produces three other red wines, Inici, El Cel and Destí Sols Garnatxa. References of the highest quality with numerous national and international awards and recognitions.
Destí 2018 wine from the Mervm Priorati winery
Wines sculpted from the earth
This latest award to Mervm Priorati Destí 2018 comes three years after the Pere Ventura cava were also selected in 2019 in the list of the Top 100 wineries in the world, by Wine & Spirits. A privilege that has consecrated them as the only sparkling wine cellar in Spain with this distinction.
The Mervm Priorati winery, located in the municipality of Porrera, in the heart of Priorat, joined the Pere Ventura group in 2013. It has provided one of the most important designations of origin in Spain and the most recognized in the world, the DOQ Priorat. Legendary vineyards cultivated in a region where the orography imposes its difficult conditions and man responds with dedication and effort to obtain wines with a unique personality, strong character and enormous complexity. Harsh soils that force the vineyards to be arranged on terraces, with an average slope of 35%, where the fruit is extracted in an almost traditional way, since mechanization is almost impossible.
A tough and demanding agriculture, where the words sacrifice, fatigue and adversity acquire a profound meaning. A heroic and extreme viticulture, which respects the land, tradition and love for the vine. A struggle that knows no days of rest until it extracts its most precious gift from the earth. It is not for nothing that Mervm Priorati recognizes that theirs are ‘wines shaped by the earth’.
The Mervm Priorati winery, located in the municipality of Porrera, in the heart of Priorat, joined the group in 2013
Indomitable united by the earth
With this tenacity and this indomitable spirit, Merum Priorat (DOQ Priorat) has more than earned its position within the Pere Ventura Family Wine Estates Group, under whose umbrella are also Pere Ventura (DO Cava) and Can Bas Domini Vinícola (DO Penedès). They currently have 328 hectares of owned and controlled vineyards and 14 grape varieties.
This family group produces its own wines and cava under the instructions of a respectful, almost manual, sustainable agriculture with roots that date back to the Middle Ages. In particular, until 1369, the year in which the oldest fief of the Group is dated. And it is this weight of tradition, the strength of the land and the pride of Priorat that gives life to each of its selected wines. Today’s awards are just the culmination of a long journey that began centuries ago.
