Pssst…

Over here. You looking to spice things up a little? Craving a big, thick, chewy, spicy red, yes… something super-concentrated from old vines with a long savory finish, but also something new and different?

We’re always on the lookout. And today we’ve found something truly special. Think about the best Chateauneuf you ever had – that game-changing combination of meatiness, pepperiness, and power. Now imagine it was from Spain – and it’s a WHOLE LOT CHEAPER!

A 95 Point Powerhouse, brand new to the US, from gnarled 40-60 year-old vines. And we’re cutting 40% OFF so it’s yours for ONLY $45!

(Be sure to check out its even older-vined sibling, A WINE SPIES EXCLUSIVE, in our store!)

Priorat as a region is one of the bastions of quality within Spain. But it’s kind of a contradiction. You see, it impossibly steep rocky slopes are home to some seriously old vines, and it’s been making wine since at least the 12th century. BUT it didn’t make it to the world stage until the late 1980’s, when René Barbier convinced a group of investors to buy vineyards. While some of these first wineries (like Clos Mogador, Finca Dofi, Clos Erasmus) now routinely command $125-$350 a bottle, there are still great pockets of value to be found.

Enter Albert Jané. From the nearby region of Montsant, he started Ritme Celler in 2010 and has been quietly buying up some of the best old-vine sites in the area ever since. And he’s acquired quite the portfolio – farming around 50 acres, with 35 acres of that as estate fruit.

‘Plaer’ means pleasure in Catalan. And boy, does this wine deliver it! Made in a modern style, its bursts out the glass like a mad bull, rippling with blackberry and black cherry fruits, exotic spices, wild herbs, earth, and toasted oak. It’s a stampede of complex flavors, finishing long and as powerfully as it began.

It’s a stunner. A wine that could be contemplated on its own but is even better with roasted lamb or bone-in porkchops. A wine you could be proud to share with friends, but when you taste it may decide to horde for yourself (along with their OTHER WINE!).

And now it’s up to you. Today ONLY $45! Small price to discover new pleasures.

95 Points – Jeb Dunnuck “Another outstanding wine from the producer, the 2022 Plaer Vinyes Velles Fantastiques Licorella is from a selection of vineyards on sloping hills, a blend of 80% Carignan and 20% Garnacha. It explodes in a savory intensity of black fruit, iron, and garrigue, smooth in tannins and full-bodied, its ripe black fruit boldly layered with specks of toasted notes from the year spent in French oak. Drink now and for another 10-15 years. 2025-2040.”