2013 Clos Pissarra, Aristan, Falset

The name Clos Pissarra is derived from the Catalan word for slate, as this is the soil that covers the regions of Montsant (sacred mountain) and Priorat (priory), that lie about 85 miles southwest of Barcelona.

Priorat has quickly established itself as the premier wine region in Spain, producing wines of great intensity and concentration but yet remaining elegant and balanced. The most highly regarded sites comes from the villages of Bellmunt del Priorat, El Molar, El Lloar, Gratallops and Porrera.

Montsant has found a most comfortable niche, being described as a softer, more approachable version of Priorat, and a great value. The most highly touted sites in the appellation are found in the villages of Falset and Capcanes.

We do not belong to either the Priorat or the Montsant appellation system as we found the current process to join either one cumbersome, bureaucratic and not necessarily conducive to producing fine wine. A number of other high profile producers are now following in our footsteps in this regard. Thus we are neither Montsant or Priorat and instead are simply Clos Pissarra. Each of the vineyard bottlings does name the town where that vineyard lies and the grape varieties that make up the wine.

 

Clos Pissarra, Aristan (Grenache & Syrah), Falset

The Vineyard

Aristan is a five acre vineyard that lies next to our winery. This vineyard is owned by Master Sommelier Emmanuel Kemiji (proprietor of Miura Vineyards in California & Managing Director of Clos Pissarra) and named after his two sons, Aristos and Tristan. Made up entirely of 10-year old Grenache (Garnatxa in Catalan) and Syrah vines on soil that is a mixture of clay and slate. The yields are cut back to a miserly one ton to the acre.


The 2013

While the blockbuster 2012 is a tough act to follow I feel that this wine is every bit as good. Perhaps a tad less powerful but with better acidity.

528 cases produced