Alex Mutch

9.2

love how much you can taste the sense of place. — 3 months ago

Vanessa

9.3

This is a stunning Garnatxa blend from Priorat (Catalonia), Spain!!

It’s comprised of mostly Garnatxa (Grenache), along with Syrah, and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from three parcels in the sun-soaked village of Gratallops, where Daphne Glorian purchased her first vineyard – Clos Escales – back in 1989 when she founded Clos i Terraces. 🍇

In making this move, she joined equally passionate and pioneering winemakers Álvaro Palacios (L’Ermita) and René Barbier (Clos Mogador) in a rebirth of production practices in the region; as a group (with other similar-minded producers) they altered the trajectory of Priorat’s profile as a source of tip top quality wines rivaling the best on the world stage. 👏🏻

Priorat is one of only two regions carrying the “DOCa” / “DOQ” quality designation (the other is Rioja), subject to various stipulations including regular auditing by a tasting panel. ✅

This particular wine is “Laurel” which is Clos i Terraces’s second wine, next to Clos Erasmus, one of Priorat’s finest and most sought-after wines. Yet it tastes like a flagship wine in and of itself.🫶🏻🫶🏻

It is absolutely beautiful, with a medium ruby hue, medium (+) intensity of ripe and fresh strawberry, red cherry, red plum, violet, black licorice, fennel, clove, baking spice aromas and flavors. It’s dry, with medium(+) acidity, a medium(+) body, high alcohol (14% ABV), and medium tannins that are fine-grained. 😆

This wine vinified and aged in a combination of vessels, including, large oak vats, concrete tanks, second and third fill French oak barrels, and clay amphorae, lending to its texture and complexity.👌🏻👌🏻
— 2 years ago

Megan

9.0

Love the way this developed in the glass. Very tight —> toasty brioche —> apple cider —> toasted hazelnut. Can’t wait to pop the next cork! — 7 years ago

Saida Santana Margalef

9.0

2016 vintage — 8 years ago

C R

9.0

Round, spices, and sea salt 👍🏻 — 8 years ago

Nick Stroud

8.9

Cherry and chocolate — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

We discovered discover this Garnacha Blanca blend during our May 2015 visit to Clos Mogador. Rene's son Rene had us jump in his old SUV and drove us through their steep and rocky hillside vineyards. If you've had their reds and wondered why fennel notes are there, it grows all over their property. After a tour of their vineyards we went back to their patio for a tasting...and what a view. Shown in the photos. We started the tasting with the 2010 Nelin. It was the first time we'd had it. At the time, one of the more unique whites we'd had in a long time. It was bright, fresh, subdued fruity, tangy with amazing crisp minerality. Afterwards, we went to lunch at "Amics" near by Clos Mogador. The best & most original 4 course lunches we had for seventy euros with a bottle of this wine. Great service and unparalleled accommodation. It didn't have a star but it should. The nicest couple from Brazil run it. Tonight's revisit is the 2011 and it's had a little better than 5 years in the bottle. It's definitely changed. It's, more golden now, weightier, thicker, more oily and picked up not quite a petrol quality. The fruits are; peach, apricot, pineapple, lemon & lime juice. Notes of honey, wild fragrant florals, amazing chalky minerality, perfect round acidity and a round, lush finish that we absolutely love. The blend is mostly Garnacha Blanca with some Viognier, Roussanne & Pinot Blanc. Photos of the property, views, and the father & son winemaking team of Rene & Rene Barbier. Producer history & notes...Clos Mogador produces estate bottled wines in Gratallops, Catalonia in the DOQ Priorat. Founded in 1979 by René Barbier III and his wife Isabelle Meyer. With several friends, they began replanting terraces and recuperating old ones to eventually have their first release in 1989 as Clos Mogador. This name comes from a novel written by an aunt named, Élisabeth Barbier called, “Les Gens de Mogador”, “The people of Mogador”; which chronicles the rise and fall of a family from near Avignon in France on an imaginary estate called, Mogador. Clos Mogador is 13 hectares. Six hectares are made of 80 years old Cariñena vines, two hectares of 6 years old Cabernet Sauvignon vines, three hectares of 6 years old Garnacha vines and 2 hectares of 6 year old are Syrah vines. They use mostly organic methods. It is worth knowing that at the winemaking stage, Rene Barbier uses an olive press instead of a normal wine press to extract the juice. This results in an even more intense wine from what are already highly concentrated grapes from low yields. Try the Nelin, it's simply delicious!!! Cheers. — 9 years ago

Edo Wachters

9.3

The Venus La Universal Dido La Solució Rosa is a wine made in Montsant, Spain, by Sara Pérez (known from Mas Martinet) and René Barbier (known from Clos Mogador). It is an unusual rosé cuvee from Garnacha, Tempranillo, Macabeo and Cariñena. The result is a complex wine, with lots of character - a rosé which drinks both like a fresh white as well as an elegant red. Really great! — 3 months ago

Jeremy.Buss

9.2

Little early pre-New Years champagne!! Banana, green apple, slight apricot, and brioche on the nose. Mellows a bit after being out and blends well. While I’m not a big banana fan, I greatly appreciated the excellent profiles. I — 3 years ago

Martinez

9.1

Flagship wine from Venus La Universal, one of Montsant’s most exciting producers, led by husband and wife team René Barbier (Clos Mogador) and Sara Pérez (Mas Martinet). Elegant blend of Garnatxa (50%), Cariñena/Carignan (40%) and Syrah (10%) from organically farmed vineyards on clay-calcareous soils between Marçà and Guiamets, in Southern Catalonia. Juicy, sensual. Red fruit and balsamic notes. — 7 years ago

Xavier Alexander prudencio lwon

9.1

Buenísimo, me gusto — 7 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.5

The 2015 Clos Mogador is a absolutely stunning release from this historic Priorat estate. Located in Gratallops, in the heart of the Priorat hills, René Barbier, one of the founders of the Priorat revolution, crafts an incredible blend of 40% Garnacha (lauched from 80 year old vines), 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah and 5% Morvedre, Pinot Noir, and Merlot. This immediately reveals seductive aromas of red cherry preserves, rose petals and roasted figs. On the palate this is ripe and intense, yields bright flavors of orange rind, red cherry and red raspberry with wild thyme and garrigue flavors. Intoxicating and beautifully structured, this beautiful wine will evolve gracefully for many years to come. Drink 2019-2040- 95 — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

One of my favorite whites. First, because it’s so good but, also for its uniqueness. It’s a wild blend of; Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo, Marsanne, Pedro Ximénez, Pinot Noir & Viognier.

The color is pale gold.

On the nose; because of the bottle age, you get just a hint of petroleum. Ripe peach, pineapple, orange zest, some green & more golden apple, nectarines, lemon/lime, ginger, chalky volcanic minerals, smokiness and yellow florals.

The body is round, full and waxy. It’s simply delicious and unlike most whites many have experienced. Touch of petroleum, ripe peach, nectarines, dry apricots, marmalade, orange zest, overripe pineapple, golden apple with just a hint of green apple, beeswax, meyer lemon, some lime flesh, touch of ginger, a little smokiness, chalky volcanic minerals and beautiful yellow florals from the Viognier. The acidity is round and perfect. The long, lush, rich, well balanced is artful and lasts two minutes.

Treat yourself and get a couple bottles. You’ll be glad you did.

Photos of, Clos Mogador, their barrel room, René Barbier Jr. - a great guy who told us to jump in his SUV and drove us through their steep vineyards. Some tricky driving for the novice but not René and one of hillside vineyards.

Outstanding producer in Priorat. If you visit them, have lunch at Amics about two miles from Clos Mogador. Perhaps, the best lunch and value we’ve had at a non-starred Michelin restaurant that absolutely deserves one and maybe two. They also do a lot catering for Clos Erasmus and the other Bodegas in the area — 8 years ago

Edo Wachters

9.5

La Vinya del Vuit (Vuit is 8 in Spanish) is a project of 8 Priorat producers started many years ago and still woking together closely to produce an excellent Priorat based on mutual efforts. The 8 comprise amongst others Sara Pérez (Mas Martinet, Venus Universal), René Barbier (Clos Mogador), Ester Nin (Nit de Nin) and 5 other producers from Gratallops. The wine label changes with each vintage, and always takes a shape in some form of an 8. The wine comes from one vineyard shared by the 8 friends, called Coll de Falset, near Gratallops. The vineyard produces very low yields (between 8 and 10 vines are needed for each bottle of wine) and as a result a very concentrated wine, mostly made with Carinyena, although there are many Garnatxa grapes in the vineyard. Only 800 bottles were produced of the 2012 wine. The result is a remarkable Priorat, very concentrated, lots of dark red fruit, very balanced, with some earthiness and minerality. Fantastic! — 2 years ago

Edo Wachters

9.3

The 2017 Gratallops Partida Bellvisos Blanc is a wine from the Priorat couple René Barbier Meyer (Clos Mogador) and Sara Pérez (Mas Martinet). It's a blend of Garnacha Blanca, Trepat Blanco and Viura (Macabeo) from 65-year-old vines. The appearance is coppery white close to rose, but no oxidation. It’s a powerful wine, ripe, spicy and some anise. — 4 years ago

Jeff Kinney

9.5

Delicate and amazing. Bottle 891/1050 — 7 years ago

michelle van heerikhuize

9.0

Really great wine! — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.3

A new find we grabbed at Clos Mogador in Priorat created by Sara Perez and Rene Barbier Jr. with another six friends, making it the "vineyard of the 8" & we visited this small plot 😍 Will benefit from 5-10 years ageing 😉 Very nicely made & balanced just young 👍

📍 Clos Mogador La Vinya del Vuit V8 2013 Priorat

🏵 93 points w/ potential for 95+

🍇 Carignan with a dollop of Grenache

🍷 Deep rich ruby

👃 Red & dark berry strawberry driven fruits in mineral, gravel, cocoa & coffee w/ a touch of violet & roses

👄 Med body of rich creamy strawberry & raspberry in mocha w/ a black berry tone

🎯 Med+ dry tannic yet still smooth linger of red & black berry fruits
— 7 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.0

Barbier Brewery from Groningen Holland / Dubbel not filtered. When someone from Groningen wants to express their enthusiasm, they say “Kon minder” = “Could be less”. Fruity beer, nice complexity. Good nightcap. — 8 years ago

Benjamin Hickey

9.2

Liquorice!! Syrah adds an interesting extra layer. — 9 years ago