WTN: 2000 Miserere Priorat

[Jenise]

This is the kind of Priorat Bill Spohn mentioned growing up on the other day. I had not met its ilk before, but I recognized it immediately from his description. Opaque and ink black, with dry black fruit and asphalt on the nose and palate. Texturewise it's gritty and awkward. There's very little secondary development, and it's hard to imagine where the wine's going from here except to believe that it's best days are ahead. Question is, will that ever be good enough?

[David M. Bueker]

Gritty and awkward do not sound promising.

[Jenise]

David, it was my only bottle, and I'm not sorry....

Miserere is the only Priorat wine made with tempranillo. Tempranillo doesn't give any refinement when grown on slate soils, so no one else grows it in Priorat. Add the fact that 2000 was a rather weak vintage there, 'nuff said, I'm afraid, about your hopes for this wine's future...

[Jenise]

Miserere is the only Priorat wine made with tempranillo. Tempranillo doesn't give any refinement when grown on slate soils, so no one else grows it in Priorat. Add the fact that 2000 was a rather weak vintage there, 'nuff said, I'm afraid, about your hopes for this wine's future...

Thanks for the additional information, Victor. Didn't know that about tempranillo, but there was certainly nothing refined in this wine at all. As for 'hopes' for the future, that was really a rather tongue in cheek statement suggesting that IF this wine was ever going to have a good day, it's in the future because it's not now and it couldn't have been in the past. But I wasn't betting on it and am glad to not have any other bottles.

I forgot to mention the marketing genius behind this wine's name, which not only sounds... miserly, but means (in Latin) 'Have pity!'

(BTW - Sorry to disconcert those who believe that my only aim in life and wine fora is to strenuously defend Spanish wines against criticism...)