Clos Erasmus - Laurel Priorat 2020

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Producer	Clos Erasmus
Country	Spain
Region	Priorat
Varietal	Garnacha Blend
Vintage	2020
Sku	06860
Size	750ml

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Clos Erasmus was born in an afternoon with the purchase of some old vines of Garnacha by Daphne Glorian, who happened to be in the area visiting some friends. Although she had no intention of purchasing such a plot or starting a winery, her friends (Alvaro Palacios and Rene Barbier) convinced her that amazing wines could be produced here if given the right attention. They were right. Since the early 1990s the Clos Erasmus wines have received rave reviews from the world’s major wine critics, including NINE wines that have been rated 99-100 pts!! Clos Erasmus is one of Priorat’s benchmark producers, these wines are not to be missed.

After years of slugging away at the portfolio, we have finally gained access to a sizeable allocation of Laurel, the "second" wine from Erasmus. Most producers would kill to have this be their first!

I put "second" in quotes because the grapes for Laurel start out with every intention to be made into  the flagship bottling. Due to the meticulous farming and observation that takes place throughout the year, by the time fruit starts to reach the cellar in autumn much of the blends have already been mapped out by winemaker Daphne Glorian. When the primary fermentations are winding down these decisions begin to coalesce and wines intended for Laurel are racked into a combination of large wooden vats, neutral oak barrels and clay amphorae.  

“I was really blown away by the aromatics of the 2014 Laurel. As soon as I put my nose in the glass I was transported to the vineyards of Gratallops, with a blast of wild herbs and flowers followed by a stream of smoked meat, juicy red currants and raspberries. It is mostly Garnacha but with some 10% each Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are cooled down during the night and in the morning some are destemmed, and some others are left with the stems on and fermented mostly with indigenous yeasts. The élevage here is one year in a combination of used oak barrels, oak vats, cement and amphorae. They have increased the volume of wine being raised in amphorae in this 2014. This might very well be the finest Laurel to date. Simply stunning! 24,000 bottles were produced in 2014.” – Luis Gutierrez on the 2014 vintage, 95 pts Wine Advocate!

“The 2020 Laurel feels very elegant, balanced and fresh, a little lighter perhaps, with perfectly ripe tannins, a little in line with 2016 or 2013. It might be a little unusual for the house style or perhaps a slight change, as they are gradually going for softer vinifications; you don't really need to extract in Priorat, because the wines are powerful enough on their own. It's still extremely young and has a lactic touch (that blows off with a bit of time in the glass); it was only bottled at the end of May 2022, three months before I tasted it. Even if it's the second wine here, it's a wine that needs a little bit of time and improves in the bottle. Having said that, the 2020s feel more open, expressive and approachable than the 2019s, which are more tannic and powerful while the 2020s feel a little more Burgundian if you like. This has to be one of the finest vintages of Laurel so far. After some time in the glass, the aromatics of the Syrah (which was perhaps a little more this year, some 12% versus 8% in 2019) made an appearance—violets, smoked bacon. Daphne Glorian told me that everything was easy, that the wine was expressive and open from day one and that the fermentations were smooth.”