2021 Mas d'en Cacador

The nose of the 2021 Nit de Nin Mas d’en Caçador is really different, with a savory condition, reminiscent of cured sausage (Catalan "fuet" dry sausage), herbal, fresh and floral, with some notes of meat and blood. It was produced with the grapes from the ancient vineyard and is a blend of 75% Garnacha (Red and Peluda) and 28% Cariñena. It fermented in 3,200-liter oak foudres with full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in 225- and 300-liter barrels for 18 months. It has moderate ripeness, a medium-bodied palate with 13.5% alcohol, purity of flavors and fine tannins, a soft mouthfeel and mellow acidity. 2,401 bottles were filled in April 2023. Carles Ortiz and Ester Nin produce 30,000 bottles, 100% of them with grapes from their own vineyards. All of their vineyards are certified organic and biodynamic, but they still don't have the certification for the wines. 2021 was an atypical year, with a big snowstorm in January, a cooler year but not as much as 2013, 2010 or 2018, and they said it was a more Mediterranean version of 2020. They harvested late, the alcohol was lower (they had some difficulties to achieve the minimum alcohol required by the appellation in some wines), and the wines are fresher but the ripeness was good (looking at the polyphenols and so on). There will be a new Garnacha from young vines in La Coma d'en Romeu. They have been planting small plots (and replacing dead vines) in their old vineyards, a trend that I see in many producers as they have to get ready for the future; if you want old vines in 50 years from now, you have to plant them now! They are also extremely worried about the lack of water and have dug a well in their Planetes vineyard that gives them very little water, but at least it's something. Unfortunately, Cariñena Blanca, the white mutation of Cariñena, is still not approved by the Priorat appellation, mainly because it's a grape that delivers wines with moderate alcohol—a blessing in the warm climate, a grape resistant to drought and pat for the climate change—usually below what the appellation requires (13% for whites). They had applied for an exception to this rule for the wines produced with Cariñena Blanca to be allowed at 12.5% alcohol, but it was rejected. So, after 11 vintages, their white is still an experimental wine.