From the cooperative to the Priorat reference from Porrera
Cims de Porrera was founded in 1996 in Porrera, a village in the southwest of the Priorat. The initiative came from the oenologist and university professor José Luis Pérez, founder of the Mas Martinet winery, and the Catalan musician Lluís Llach. Together with the winemakers of the local cooperative, they wanted to save the old, native vines of Porrera. The work on the steep slopes was hard and yielded little. Many owners had therefore abandoned their vineyards.
The name goes back to the mountain peaks (cims) around the village. Today, the winery is entirely in the hands of the Pérez family. Since 2004, Adrià Pérez, the son of the founder, and his cousin Marc have been running it. The wines continue to be produced in the Porrera cooperative.
Old vines, fair prices, manual labor on the slate slope
The project rests on a model with local winemakers. About 20 members of the cooperative continue to cultivate their plots themselves. Cims de Porrera buys the grapes and pays a fair price for them. This keeps the old vineyards economically viable. Some vines are over 100 years old, especially Cariñena (Samsó) and Garnacha.
They grow on Llicorella, the weathered slate of the Priorat. It hardly stores any water, so the roots have to reach deep. The slopes are steep, the yields per vine are low. The grapes are hand-picked, destemmed, and fermented separately according to variety and plot. The wines remain separate until the assemblage.
Vi de Vila and Clàssic: Porrera in the glass
The Vi de Vila reflects the village as its origin. The DOQ Priorat introduced the "Vi de Vila" designation in 2009. In the 2020 vintage, the red wine consists of 60% Cariñena and 40% Garnacha from 22 vineyards of the cooperative members. The Cariñena matures for 12 to 14 months in 400-liter barrels, the Garnacha in concrete tanks. After that, the wine lies on the bottle for another three years before it goes on sale. In the glass, you will find dark fruits, mineral notes, herbs, and cedar, plus strong tannins and a fresh acidity that carries the wine.
The assortment goes beyond that. The Clàssic is a single-varietal wine made from old Cariñena and is only bottled in selected years. In addition, there is a Garnatxa from Porrera and a white Vi de Vila, which is predominantly based on Garnacha Blanca. Braised dishes of lamb or beef, dark chocolate, and hearty mushroom dishes go well with the red wines.
