Perinet winery in Priorat, Spain
Call it Carignan, call it Mazuelo, call it Samsó – no matter which guise Carinyena takes, it’s often dismissed as a blending grape, only included to add colour and structure. But at Perinet in Priorat, winemaker Toni Sanchez-Ortiz is treating Carinyena as a star.
Having worked in Australia, California and New Zealand, Sanchez-Ortiz returned home familiar with the most modern winemaking techniques and technology. He combined these with his deep understanding of climate change’s effects on Priorat’s grapes, which formed the basis for his doctoral thesis. It is this wealth of skill and knowledge that has gone into the 2018 Vinya Pendents Carinyena, a single-vineyard wine awarded 97 points and a Platinum medal at DWWA 2024.
The Vinya Pendents Carinyena, which is being released in limited quantities – through selected stockists and Perinet’s Wine Club – hails from the maritime influenced mesoclimates of Porrera. Its pronounced violet and earthy aromas capture something of Priorat’s famous llicorella soils, while its chalky and salty notes speak of its location, just 20 kilometres from the Mediterranean sea.
Perinet’s winemaker Toni Sanchez-Ortiz is gaining acclaim for combining traditional varieties with modern techniques.
Shining a spotlight on each individual vineyard
A focus on Priorat’s meso- and microclimates is a thread that runs through all Perinet’s wines. The 2017 Perinet draws together local varieties Garnacha and Carinyena with international favourites Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, all grown in the Mas
