Torres Perpetual, DOQ Priorat

Description

Torres Perpetual is a red wine from the Priorat wine-growing region bottled as a Denominacion de Origen Calificado (or DOQ). It is an old vine blend of Carinena and Garnacha.

The Torres family has been making wine in the ancient Catalán town of Vilafranca del Penedès, southwest of Barcelona, since the 17th Century. It is this tradition combined with innovation, dynamism and commitment to quality that has put Torres firmly on the world map. They remain one of the largest family-owned and run wine companies in the world (there is also Miguel Torres Chile and Marimar Torres in California) and, under the stewardship of fourth-generation Miguel Torres they are committed to sustainable viticulture and green practices. Today Torres not only have vineyards in their home region of Penedes, but all over Spain in regions such as Priorat, Rioja and Rueda. In 2006 Torres was awarded European Winery of the Year in Wine Enthusiast’s Annual Wine Star Awards. The Torres family is also one of the founding members of Primum Familiae Vini.

Priorat is a small wine-growing area that has been making wine for the last eight centuries. The “denominación” is located in the province of Tarragona and has come to fame in the last decade after starting to apply new winemaking technologies. At the beginning of the 1980s, many wine producers began planting French grapes to combine with the local varieties, and since then they have been producing more modern, new-wave Priorat wines. Traditional and new wines’ quality is due to its unique microclimate and soil. The land, and this combination of old and new wines, have made Priorat one of the most closely watched areas of cultivation in Europe.

In 1996 the Torres Family began work on the planting of vineyards on the slopes strewn with the hard, black slate-like “Licorella” stone and the first wine they produced was the Torres Salmos. Torres Perpetual is its big brother. The wine is made personally by Mireia Torres, a fifth-generation member of the family and Technical Director at Bodegas Torres. Torres Perpetual underwent a revamp in 2017 with a new label but also in terms of winemaking. Old Cariñena vines, which lend distinct expression to the region’s llicorella soils, have an even greater presence in the new blend, and reducing the length of skin contact further emphasizes the fresh, floral character of the variety. Furthermore, the aging barrels are giving way to 1,500-liter foudres for a more delicate oak treatment which allows the fruit to shine.

The grapes for Torres Perpetual come exclusively from Torres family vineyards located in the municipalities of Porrera and Lloar which are over 80 years old. The soils here are shallow, developed over Carboniferous (Paleozoic) slates that drain swiftly and have a low water holding capacity. It is precisely these soils, located on steep slopes, that give Priorat wines their typicity. Matured for 17 to 18 months in French oak barrels and foudres.

Torres Perpetual is a blend of 79% old vine Carinena and 21% Garnacha.

This wine is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.