I’m a fanboy.
I’ll admit when Michael, known as Please Bring Me My Wine in the wine world reached out to me a few months ago to talk Catalan Wines, I was a bit starstruck. I’ve been following his wine blog for a few years, and appreciate how he shares his thoughts on wines with the British wine buying public. So when he mentioned he was coming to Barcelona, and wanted me to tour him around Priorat, there was no way I could say no. Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t.
Michael had his wife, Linn, his lifelong mate Miles (a GM for a Manchester restaurant), and Miles’ wife Laura join us on a day-long tour of the Priorat. We took in three of my favourite vineyards: Sao del Coster, Clos Figueras, and Celler Joan Ametller.
Sometimes you forget how special Catalunya is as a wine region, and I’ll admit sometimes I do take the incredible landscapes for granted at times. Driving the foursome out to Priorat was a reminder of just how lucky those of us who live here truly are. Michael and co. marvelled at the landscape as we descended into Falset from the mountain pass that separates Reus from the wine regions of Monsant and Priorat.
The best part of the journey was discovering Michael’s attitude and style on his blog is an exact reflection of how he is in real life, including his great sense of humour. Participating in giving both Miles and Michael a hard time about a bevy of subjects made the long day wine tasting pass by in a blink of an eye.
Overall, it was great to hear how impressed Michael was with the Priorat wine region. He remarked how different the soil compositions and elevations impacted the wines of the vineyard in Gratallops (Sao del Coster and Clos Figueras) versus the wine at Celler Joan Ametller, which is at a significant high elevation at the base of the Monsant Mountain Range itself.
So Michael’s verdict? I think we can expect him to return, over and over again, not only Priorat, but Catalunya to sample more wines in the future. I’ll be sure to welcome him and whomever he brings, with open arms.