Frares 2013 is a young-ish wine from Priorat. This was my first stop at Marks and Spencer to source Priorat fro dinner. I was quite surprised of the retail price as it was there at £11 (no special promotions).
Let’s explore what’s the trick here.
First of all, as you can expect from Priorat, it comes with the alcoholic punch – this one is at full 15% abv.
It is unoaked, which is a surprise as Priorat mature their wines nicely (and I especially like those 5-6 year bottles- the woodiness is so well integrated there!) OK, this is not the case here.
The wine is gorgeously deep and purple in colour, which indicates that pure fruit is on offer here.
The wine has wonderful and tender forest fruit notes, which are juicy, herby and delicate. If forest fruit could be an aristocrat then this is a true expression of it.
Though when you think about Priorat you don’t think about how delicate it is, don’t you? Hence, I think it is not shifting off the shelves quickly – I highly recommend this one, because of the concentration of these wonderful fruit flavours – pure and uninterrupted.
The wine is marked as suitable for vegans and vegetarians, which doesn’t mean organic, but that no harmful fining was done in winemaking, which is a plus (helps to preserve those delicate fruit flavours).
Have a look at bigger Marks and Spencer shops for it, or try their wine club – it offers a lot whilst your effort is minimal.
