Sommelier at the Château Cordeillan-Bages Restaurant in Pauillac, France.
The colour is deep, almost purple with violet and scarlet highlights that shine out of the glass. It already tells us quite a lot of things. How bright it is! Even though it is still very young, this wine’s luxurious robe seems to cling to the sides of the glass. The initial un-swirled aromas are thick and intense. Once swirled, this wine is not shy. It shows off its complex aromatic range. From the beginning, more subtle aromas appear: blackcurrants and blackberries as well as some plum. I would like to congratulate the vintner for having picked just at optimum ripeness and this can be tasted in the wine’s opulence which is well balanced with fresh fruit flavours giving its bouquet an amazing finesse. Its ageing in oak is subtle and elegant. I swirl the glass to tear down the initial veils of aroma to try to get into a more intimate realm. As the layers of aroma are unveiled, dried fruit, cherry, tamarind and even cherry stones combined with rosewood resin provide a generous and powerful impression. Vanilla and cedar notes appear mixed with liquorice adding a masculine touch to the bouquet. Alcohol is complimented by a lot of fruit. Very daring!
A rich and enveloping taste, its youthfulness is harmonious. Generous touches of fruit and spices with great acidity achieve unrivalled balance. Cherry stone flavours return and are well accompanied by spice. Its tannins are structured, noble, fine and velvety. There are so many tannins here that they dance on the palate. This wine needs cellar time in order for the tannins to calm down. Its finish is fruity and warm. It has a very long back-palate with good polyphenols and oh so much to behold in the future!
For the first time in our country, Clos Mogador, one of the prestigious wines made by René Barbier in the D.O.Ca. Priorat, was awarded the prestigious qualification of «Vi de Finca».
“Vi de Finca” is an additional qualification to the D.O.Ca. Priorat certification, which already recognizes this wine. Clos Mogador was the first wine to receive this prestigious qualification in the whole of Spain. It certifies that all grapes used to make this wine over at least the last five years have been sourced from the Clos Mogador single vineyard (five years which can be documented and traced), and at the same time is awarded to a wine which has received international acclaim over at least the last ten years.
2004
Certificat Vi de Finca