Spain | Priorat

Mountains in the Priorat DOQ Region of Tarragona, Spain

Priorat DOQ (Denominació d'origen Qualificada) is a small, unique pocket of black hills where powerful, deep red wines of superb quality have been made for over eight centuries. Located in the Catalan province of Tarragona, the Priorat DOQ leaped to fame in the last decade after producers began to apply new technologies in their winemaking. Since then the vineyards, planted at the beginning of the eighties with French as well as native varieties, have produced the acclaimed ‘new Prioratos’. Today these wines have become some of the best known not only in Spain but also internationally.

The Cartoixa (Carthusian Monastery) of Scala Dei represents the birthplace of wines and wine-making in the DOQ Priorat region. The Carthusian monks brought from Provence in the 12th century the knowledge and techniques to develop a winegrowing culture that established itself firmly and has evolved over the centuries. The Carthusians’ lands made up the historic Priorat area which today forms the DOQ Priorat wine region.

The quality of the wines, both the traditional and the new, is founded on a unique microclimate and soil. It is this terroir and the mixture of old and new wines that have made Priorato one of the most closely watched European growing areas.