“If you can still find them, 2001 is a mythical vintage in many Spanish viticultural areas.”
Robert Parker wrote this over a decade ago and based on my recent tasting of Rotllan Torra’s 2001 Tirant, it still holds true.
According to the Catalunya website, Jordi Rotllan Torra and his family founded the Torroja del Priorat winery in the early ‘80s. Supposedly the small mountain village was a popular vacation destination for the wine distribution family from Penedes when Jordi was young. When they realized the amazing potential of the region, they purchased the vineyards and the facility built in the 17th century by Carthusian monks of Scala Dei in a Renaissance style with Cistercian influences. “From the start it was designed as a cellar, with an enormous capacity of one million litres of wine.” Dug into the ground with stone and mortar, allowing for constant temperature and humidity with silence and darkness, the winery is naturally suited to optimum winemaking conditions. Of course the Rotllan Torra family updated the facility with modern technology to enhance the wine. And with the benchmark 2001 vintage, a legendary Tirant was born.
I can remember the Parker review for the 2001s posting in 2004 and the fury for which clients gobbled up the best-of-the-best, Tirant being one of them. Yet, not many clients had even tasted a Priorat wine at that time. The base for the wine being 90-100 year old Garnacha (Grenache) and Mazuelo/Samsó (Carignan) with addition of younger Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot…a modern “field blend” of Rhone and Bordeaux varietals with some Old World complexity was the expectation. And upon arrival, it delivered!
“A prodigious effort...fermented in large oak foudres and aged 12 months in new French oak, it will be bottled with neither fining nor filtration. Inky/purple-colored to the rim, it boasts a spectacular bouquet of blueberries, blackberries, and the region’s classic crushed stone minerality. This full-throttle yet remarkably elegant 2001 possesses tremendous intensity and texture as well as layers of flavor, but comes across as not over the top, overripe, or overly heavy. The 60-second finish reveals more noticeable tannin than the other cuvees. The 2001 Tirant is indeed a special wine.” - 96-98 points, Robert Parker
However, one of the skeptic opinions back then was “would it hold up to aging?” Even the original review places the outside of drinkability at 2020. Well, today I’m here to tell you the wine has evolved remarkably, still retaining youthfulness in flavor yet being completely integrated in terms of tannin. And I foresee a handful of wonderful years ahead for this wine.
As a 15th anniversary wine, my wife and I recently enjoyed a bottle with two very different dishes: Portobello, porcini, ricotta and Parmigiano stuffed ravioli with a sage brown butter sauce and a turkey burger with sauteed shallots stuffed and layered with sharp cheddar and topped with Cajun style mayonnaise. With the raviolis, darker fruits and herbal characteristics emerged, and with the turkey burger, brighter fruits and peppery spices were revealed. I’d go so far as to say this wine, though solid on its own, still commands a good pairing to reveal its best. At just $59.99 a bottle for this decade-and-a-half-old vino, please respect the wine and reward yourself appropriately by enjoying it this way.