Terroir Históric is Dominik Huber’s homage to the wines of Priorat before high-octane winemaking techniques from France—and the influence of stateside critics—took hold. With this idea to create an all-encompassing view of Priorat, the vineyards for Históric cover multiple soil types and terroirs across these concertinaed hills: from slate to clay and granite to alluvial soils; from aubagues (shady spots) to solanes (sunny spots); and from 350 to 800 metres in altitude. All sites are certified organic.

This white is 75% Grenache Blanc and 25% Macabeo, roughly the same blend as would have been used generations ago. Over the years the style has lessened its reliance on skin contact, so today the grapes are mostly pressed as whole clusters, with the juice wild-fermented and raised on lees for six months in a 5,000-litre concrete tank. No destemming, no stainless steel, no pigeage, no extraction and no new oak—nothing added, nothing taken away. The result is a fresh, mineral and expressive white that oozes texture and stony savouriness.

The Históric Negre is 75% Grenache and 25% Carignan—roughly the same blend as used in this region a generation ago. A healthy dose of the Grenache was grown in La Morera, high in the Montsant ranges on clay/limestone soils. The remainder of the fruit came from vines throughout Priorat, grown on slate and schist, providing savoury minerality. Fermented as whole clusters with indigenous yeasts, the wine was then aged for six months in a 5,000-litre concrete tank.

The style is juicy, lifted and enticing; floral tones over cherry fruit, subtle spice and earthy, smoky tones. It’s a lovely, old-is-new-again Priorat, packed with pure fruit and minerality, with no hint of oak treatment. It has a long, juicy finish with just a pinch of very fine tannins. As is custom, this represents outstanding value for money, and we challenge you to stop at just one glass. Hands down the finest red we have tasted under this label.

This is a Vi de Coster, the equivalent of 1er Cru. As we have said before, this is one of the most mineral, sculpted whites we know. It tastes as if the wine was tapped directly from pure rock—which, of course, it was. Forget about how rare white Priorat is; Pedra de Guix gives the great whites of the world a run for their money.

This is a blend of three varieties from three villages: Poboleda (on schist) provides the Grenache Blanc; Torroja (on alluvial soils) the Macabeo; and the chalky/gypsum soils of El Lloar contribute the Pedro Ximenez. The old vines of these sites are between 50 and 80 years old. The grapes are gently basket-pressed over the course of several hours and the juice ferments wild in diamond-shaped concrete vats, where it matures for 11 months. With most of the grapes today pressed off their skins prior to fermentation, the style now hinges on purity and tension rather than development, as was the case in the past. This comes without any sacrifice to the salinity and structure derived from its rocky soils.

Bottled unfiltered, it’s an outstanding, pungent and stony rendition of this Priorat benchmark, with laser-point acidity balanced by just the right amount of phenolic grip and textural weight. Such precision and detail are more than rare in the whites from this part of the world. Gutiérrez’s 96-point score does not flatter this stunning white.

This is a Vi de Terra Viva—the equivalent of a village wine. From 2022, the Terra de Cuques white is a blend of Grenache Blanc (60%) and Pedro Ximenez (40%), from 25-plus-year-old vines on slate/clay in La Morera del Montsant. The vineyards face northeast and are 400 to 600 metres above sea level. The aspect means the vines are sheltered from the sun’s harshest rays, while the altitude results in cool nights that lock in refreshing acidity. The bush vines also play a role in maximising coolness and freshness.

As with all the whites here, this is evolving to be a more precise and focused style, while the inclusion of Grenache Blanc further contributes precision and freshness. The grapes are hand-harvested, fermented as whole bunches for five days in stainless steel and cement tanks, and then aged for six months in cement. It’s a wonderfully unique expression of high-country Priorat, with mouth-coating texture and beautifully entwined, energising mineral grip.

Terra de Cuques Negre is the new name for Terroir al Límit’s former Torroja Vi de Vila (village wine). This is primarily because Huber wanted to introduce fruit from a variety of villages, not only Torroja. This 2019 is the second release to include fruit from several small vineyards in the cooler, high-altitude terroirs of Poboleda and La Morera, heading northwards towards the Montsant ranges. Despite the new vineyards, the wine remains an equal split of Carignan and Grenache.

Over 350 metres above sea level, these vineyards are some of the highest old-vine red sites in Priorat (the youngest vines for this blend are more than 30 years old). Most of the vines sit on llicorella slate soils, except for a portion of the Grenache, which is planted on much sparser limestone/clay soils. This cuvée is also the beneficiary of any declassified material from Terroir al Límit’s top vineyards. Made with 100% whole bunches, the grapes were harvested by hand and layered into tank, where their weight produced just enough juice to begin fermentation. The wine was raised in 3,500-litre Stockinger foudres and a variety of concrete tanks for 14 months.

Another Vi de Coster, the equivalent of 1er Cru. Arbossar is a steep, 1.6-hectare vineyard of 100-plus-year-old Carignan planted on schist and granite. It’s close to the village of Torroja, where the Terroir al Límit cellars are based. Against conventional wisdom, Arbossar was planted on cooler, north-facing slopes. It was this unusual site, purchased in 2005, that informed much of Huber’s early experience with the terroirs of Priorat. As Luis Gutiérrez explains, it’s always a “fresher and more floral style” than the corresponding Dits del Terra (from the south-facing slopes). It’s picked earlier, too. The wines are made in a similar fashion: 100% whole-bunch vinification with wild yeasts and 16 months’ maturation, exclusively in concrete. Huber describes Arbossar as a wine with a French soul, a German head and a Spanish heart; we describe it as deeply impressive. With its striking perfume and refreshing spine wrapped in layers of raspberry and floral fruit, it is the most Burgundy-shaped Arbossar to date. This is finesse through and through.

Dits del Terra is another Vi de Coster (equivalent to 1er Cru). It can be thought of as Arbossar’s south-facing sibling. It is also 100% Carignan, from three schist-rich sites where the vines are more than 80 years old. Dits del Terra was one of the first vineyards that Huber and his then-partner, Eben Sadie, acquired when they started making wine together in Priorat. The south-facing terroir brings more flesh and power, yet also beautiful acidity. The viticulture is, as always, biodynamic, and this site is currently undergoing organic certification. Huber and Peceric infuse the juice gently, using a jug to pour it over the whole bunches, and from 2021 it is vinified entirely in concrete. Again, there is so much brightness and charm, with svelte tannins and precise acidity slowly tapering to a lingering, mineral close. Priorat-Chambertin, anyone?

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.

Vi d’Altura, the equivalent of Grand Cru. There are two Vi d’Altura wines produced here: Les Tosses and Les Manyes. These are Terroir al Límit’s finest Priorats, as tasted through the prism of Carignan (for Les Tosses) and Grenache (for Les Manyes). They are simply two of the greatest reds emanating from Spain.

The two-hectare Les Tosses vineyard sits on a stony ridge of deep, black slate soils to the northeast of the village of Torroja, at a striking altitude of 650 metres. It is one of very few ancient vineyards at this elevation. The 80-year-old bush vines are mainly Carignan, with a tiny percentage of Grenache. They face east, like watchmen guarding the valley, and are planted at a density of 6,605 plants per hectare. These vines, along with those of Les Manyes, receive the most intricate attention from the Terroir al Límit team, with each vine treated like a prized possession.

Dominik Huber uses only the best portion of this ‘Grand Cru’ site for this bottling (the rest goes into the village wine). He ferments 100% whole bunches with indigenous yeasts. Pressing occurred halfway through, and then the wines went into concrete vessels for eight months. It is not cheap but it is one of Spain’s finest reds, and made in tiny quantities.