Cruor 2021

Cruor is a red from D.O.Q. Priorat made by Casa Gran del Siurana, a historic farmhouse estate in Bellmunt del Priorat now part of Grupo Perelada, in a region where Carthusian monks first introduced winemaking at the Scala Dei monastery. It blends Garnacha with Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Cariñena from the Casa Gran and La Fredat estates. Priorat's signature soil is llicorella, the fractured black slate that forces vines to root deep for water, concentrating fruit and lending a distinct mineral character, while the steep, sun exposed slopes and warm climate push the grapes to full ripeness, here reaching 15 percent. The wine is aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, where slow oxygen exchange through the wood firms and polishes the tannins and adds cedar, spice and a touch of vanilla. The result is a full bodied, assertive red with ripe blackberry, black plum and dark cherry, dried herbs, liquorice and a smoky, stony minerality, on firm tannins and a warming finish. Serve at 17 to 18C and decant for an hour. It calls for grilled and roasted red meat.