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A visit to Terroir al Límit

20/06/2018 Wineries

We recently visited the winery Terroir al Lìmit, lead by Dominik Huber, a German citizen who first arrived in Priorat in 1996. His way of interpreting the landscapes has changed over the years, until 2018. He now has a project, people and wines that are finding a clearer and more precise definition of Priorat.

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Dominik’s journey in Priorat began in 1996 in the family Más Martinet and Cims de Porrera , where he worked in the grape harvest. In 2000, he returned to Priorat to spend a full year working in the winery. During his stay, he met Eben Sadie, a fantastic South African winemaker who was also in the area. Things flowed between the two and the following year they decided to start making their first wine, Dits del Terra, at the Cims de Porrera winery. 2003 was the year they took a step forward and decided to set up the winery in Torroja. They also launched another new wine called Arbossar and bought the vineyard of Les Tosses, a Carignan vineyard at the highest part of Torroja. 2006 was the first vintage that went on the market of the winery’s two most famous plots, Les Manyes and Les Tosses. In 2008, after a visit to the winery Celler de Can Roca, where he presented his range of red wines, Pitu Roca offered him to stay for dinner and prepared a pairing with white wines throughout the meal. From that day on, he began to think about Pitu’s proposal, and today, it has become one of the Priorat wineries of reference in white wines. In 2011, Eben Sadie left Terroir al Limit and Dominik continued his journey to build his personal brand.

Today, the small project they started with has been settling and creating new growth paths. In 2015, they launched the Historic line, with white and reds, a very interesting base wines with which they are opening new markets, and also a new winery in Capçanes where they produce wines from Montsant that will soon be on the market.

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When we arrived in Torroja, the Terroir al Lìmit team was waiting for us. Then, we headed towards Les Tosses, an impressive century-old vineyard of Carignan located at the top of the municipality of Torroja, 600 metres above sea level. The road to the vineyard is spectacular, very green due to the rains of recent months; the vegetation was splendid. All kinds of flowers, plants and Mediterranean trees that are born from the purest Licorella soils. We reached the top of the hill, where we could see the whole area of Les Tosses and the dimension of Priorat. 2 hectares of very old Carignan, more than 100 years old, on a very steep slope with 7,000 vines planted to produce 4,000 kg of grapes. A vineyard that has been difficult for them to understand and interpret, and that they are now using to finding their way.

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We go down again towards the village of Torroja, where the winery is located, to taste the wines that are not yet bottled. Small and functional, with cement and stainless steel deposits and foudres to ferment and age wines in different ways, providing them with complexity. Their way of winemaking has evolved. Nowadays, the basis for the production begins with the fermentation of the whole bunches, both with white and red varieties. Hence the slightly more intense colour in whites, and the more fruity character of red wines in their youth.

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We were lucky enough to taste the following wines:
Pedra de Guix 2016, a delicacy that wants to pay tribute to southern wines. White Grenache, Maccabeu and Pedro Ximenez are vinified with a light ageing in with the yeast cap, which gives it complexity and body.
Torroja Vi de Vila 2017, Carignan and Grenache in equal parts in a vintage with excellent fluidity and a structure that makes the wine quite long.
Dits del Terra 2016 is made with Carignan; the wine that shows its stay in foudres the most. The dark fruit and the structure with the perfect granulated sensation provided by the Stockinger foudre.
Les Manyes 2016, the Grenache vineyard is planted on clay and guix (gypsum). One of the most spectacular and aerial wines of the winery. Amazing depth and texture.
Les Tosses 2016 was my favourite, one of the most subtle Carignan wines I have ever tasted. A measured structure to add length to a series of cherry and graphite sensations and aromas. A great vintage.

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From the winery we moved on to Cal Compte, his new home, to make the project known to the world. A country hotel recently acquired so that people can come from all over the world to experience what Terroir al Límit means. A spectacular old building with magnificent views and rooms. A step forward to close the circle where people, wine and food come together. Something that is very important to understand the wine from a Mediterranean character, from the inside, from our senses.

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