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Vi d’Altura, the equivalent of Grand Cru. High in the Montsant ranges, the Manyes vineyard is located at the remarkable altitude of 800 metres (the highest in Priorat). This cool, north-facing site is only 1.4 hectares, and the vines are now about 55 years old. While Les Tosses is planted to Carignan on pure llicorella slate, Les Manyes is predominantly clay with elements of quartz and limestone and is planted almost exclusively to Grenache. It produces a Priorat Grenache like no other—if we had to put forward a single bottling that symbolises the unique wines of Dominik Huber, this would be it. This year Huber told us that the Grenache here is actually Garnatxa Peluda, a mutation of Grenache Noir producing smaller, thicker-skinned berries with higher acidity and less alcohol. Perhaps this is a key to the wine’s beguiling personality. Regardless, it is the antithesis of Priorat’s blockbuster image with the intensity, finesse and transparency of a great Grand Cru Burgundy.
Huber ferments this cuvée with 100% whole bunches and indigenous yeasts and, as of the 2016 vintage, the wine has no contact with wood. Again, it is expensive, but we’re talking about one of Spain’s greatest reds, with a price tag that remains about one-third of its closest Priorat competitor.