Published by Jeremy.
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As far as Spanish wines are concerned, we are often hit-or-miss with the hot climates resulting in very ripe grapes that lower acidity and increase alcohol.
One exception for our tastes is the Priorat region, which often has some delightful Garnacha-based blends that we quite enjoy. Roca de les Dotze Noray is one such bottle, and the aged blend of Grneache, Carignan, and Syrah hit our tastes perfectly!
We received this bottle as part of our Vinera Wine Club sample provided for review. As always, all opinions are our own.
A Well-Balanced Aged Garnacha Blend
This Garnacha dominant red blend from Priorat was medium ruby in color with medium aromas of dried red cherry, red plum, cola, tobacco, leather, violet, wet stone, dried leaves, dried herbs, thyme, basil, and blueberry.
On the palate, it was dry with medium acidity, velvety tannin, body, flavor intensity, and finish plus high alcohol. We had flavors of blueberry, blackberry, dried red cherry, dried cranberry, red plum, clove, cedar, wet stone, black pepper, tobacco, leather, and cassis.
This one had all the hallmarks of an excellent Spanish Garnacha, including ripe red plum notes while having high alcohol and restrained acidity that was balanced nicely for the wine.
Priorat Red Blend Food Pairing – Thai Basil Beef
We paired this Priorat blend with Thai basil beef as we thought the fruit notes would pair nicely with the basil-forward meal, while the high alcohol and moderate tannins would mix well with the beef. As suspected, the wine held up nicely to the dish, and we had notes of jammy plum, black pepper, and riper fruit notes that weren't originally present in the wine.
On the side, we had broiled broccolini which highlighted blueberry and other dark fruit notes as well, which was a nice balance all around.
Score 4 / 5
We'd buy another bottle of this one.
Admittedly, we are not terribly fond of Spanish red wines as they often can be quite high in alcohol and have lower acidity than we normally prefer. This Garnacha blend was still bright and vibrant, and had all the notes of an excellent bottle that we can't get enough of. For that, we'd gladly buy another bottle (and would even let it age a little longer, too!)
Roca de les Dotze is located in Priorat, Spain. We received this bottle as part of a Vinera Wine Club sample provided courtesy for review. We enjoyed it in 2025.
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