Mas d’en Compte Rosat 2021

Mas d'en Compte Rosat is made by Cal Pla in D.O.Q. Priorat from an unusual pairing of native grapes, Garnacha Gris and Picapoll Negre, deliberately set apart from the region's usual red Grenache. The fruit comes from small plots of vines over 15 years old farmed at very low yields, around a kilo per vine, which concentrates flavour. Priorat's licorella, the steep slate and quartzite soil, forces deep rooting and tight crops, while warm days and cool nights hold freshness in the grapes. Both fermentation and a brief ageing take place on the fine lees in third-use 500-litre French oak barrels, where the spent wood adds texture and slow oxygen exchange rather than overt oak flavour, and lees contact builds breadth across the palate. The wine is neither stabilised nor filtered, leaving it whole and textured. The colour is a deeper pink, the nose shows wild strawberry, redcurrant and pear with a beeswax note from the barrel, and the palate is dry, broad and savoury with a saline slate finish. Serve at 9 to 11 degrees.