The patriarch of modern Priorat: Carles Pastrana

This piece originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register (November 6, 2015) If someone had told Carles Pastrana years ago that he would be considered the patriarch of modern Priorat wine and the owner of two of the greatest wines in the world (Clos de l’Obac and Miserere), he would have said they were insane. Priorat is not a normal region. A tiny region within Catalonia, Spain, Priorat is a small area that covers 4,000 acres. A very hilly area with hot and dry summers and cold and windy winters, the soil consists of slate, rocks and bushes. It is not an area to easily plant in and many were thought to be foolish to plant there. The Romans did not dare to try. But in the 12th century, the Catalonian king founded a place for monks. No vines, no grapes. No grapes, no wine. No wine, no communion. So, the first thing to do when the monks moved in was to plant grapes.