2000 Clos Martinet

The 2000 Clos Martinet has a ripe nose with blackberry, briary, a touch of lavender and a little brine. It has fine delineation although it is not a complex bouquet. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannins on the entry, including blackberry, quince, Chinese 5-spice and a little rosemary. There is certainly a firm, obdurate backbone underpinning this 12-year-old Priorat and it is very linear and focused with a gentle grip on the finish. It should age nicely for another 4-6 years. If anything, both these wines attest to how far Mas Martinet has come. Drink now-2017. When making a maiden visit to a wine region and knocking on the door of properties, there will always been one that stands out from the rest. There will be one where the wine enraptures and stimulates the senses unlike any other and offers food for thought long after you have departed with renewed spring in your step. On this occasion, it was Mas Martinet. My senses were almost overwhelmed by the thrilling wines and winemaker Sara Perez’s passionate explanation of her philosophies, which challenge the status quo in Priorat. Now here’s a winemaker thinking outside the box. Her father, Jose Luis Perez, one of the pioneers of Priorat, stood by her side in silence, not wishing to interrupt his daughter’s flow. I wonder whether he envisaged the heights that Mas Martinet would achieve all those years ago? I asked whether Sara’s approach differs from her husband, Rene Barbier of Clos Mogador fame (she pointed out, the younger Rene of the family!) Sara replied that there is a divergence in opinion of when to pick, Rene “Senior” preferring the latest date, Sara the earliest and her husband somewhere in the middle. Who is right? Well, why should there be a single interpretation? Then again, I thought the wines of Mas Martinet demonstrated their terroir with more clarity than any other Priorat winery in 2009 and 2010. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800