Priorat

A provincial saying perfectly captures Priorat's reputation with wines: "From stones, Catalonia makes bread, but Priorat makes wine." Its spirit lies in Scala Dei ("Stairway to God") where a Carthusian monastery "La Cartoix" was erected to commemorate a shepherd´s vision of angels ascending a stairway to heaven. Since the 12th century, this Priory controlled wine and olive production eventually giving the region its name. In the 19th century, the region´s wines were famous for their deep color, strength and longevity. Then the phylloxera devastated the region. In the 1980's several ambitious producers decided that Priorat's unique combination of forbiddingly steep stony licorella (schist) hillsides, terraced vineyards and tiny yields could awaken unparalleled, complex qualities from Garnacha and Carignan grapes, held in low esteem elsewhere. Today, Priorat's terraced vineyards, intermingled with olive, almond and hazelnut trees, are a source of rare, costly, world-class wines combining the classic local grapes with top international varieties.

View the wines in Frontier's portfolio from Priorat.