1995 Clos de l'Obac

The 1995 Clos de l’Obac has an intriguing bouquet, the fruit having ebbed away and offering potent aromas of liquorice, molasses and singed leather. The palate offers more than the nose – a dense core of dusky red fruit, wild strawberry, raspberry and mulberry struck through with allspice and a touch of oxtail. This is nicely balanced and rewards more than the 1990 at this stage. Drink now-2018. Carles Pastrana was one of the pioneers of Priorat’s renaissance in the 1980s, when viticulture hung by a 700-hectare thread. Alongside Alvaro Palacios and Rene Barbier, Pastrana bottled his first vintage in 1989. His aim is to express the terroir in accordance with the vintage, to reflect its vagaries by always using the same blend of grape varieties year after year, while all his wines are unfiltered. The flagship Clos de l’Obac is one of Priorat’s longest serving wines although I somehow felt that the Bordeaux grape varieties did not quite “gel” with the Rhone. Importer: Vinea Imports, Seattle, WA; tel. (206) 313-4994; Mono Verde Imports; www.monoverdeimports.com; and Obac Imports; no telephone number available.