Vinos Sin-Ley means “wines without laws” and represents a joint venture between a group of young Spanish winemakers who wanted to recognize that there was amazing innovation going on in the Spanish wine industry in terms of viticulture, winemaking technique and creative expansion and exploration of traditional wine areas that wasn’t necessarily recognized by the rigorous, and for these vigneron at least, slow-moving Spanish wine laws.

Originally created by Emili Esteve, who makes this wine, and Manuel Martinez in 1999, the Vinos Sin-Ley winemakers, now number more than eight.  They meet twice per year to discuss new projects that are of mutual interest, then return to their respective wineries, where they create small lots of wine for Vinos Sin-Ley, using their own equipment and in their own style.

This wine, made by Emili Esteve , who makes wines for a number of top properties in Catalunya, including the famed Francesca Vicent Robert is made from very old (a good portion are 100+ years old) Garnacha from Priorato.  It is aged for twelve months in French Oak, and only 500 cases were made.  300 of those were sold in Europe, leaving 200 for the U.S.

This wine represents just about everything that I love about Priorato, great old Garnacha vines, coupled with state of the art winemaking, and lots of love.  The result is, again, dark purple, with lots of flowers, spice and earth to match up with the focused blackberry and cherry fruit.  This provides a great comparison with the Charbonnière, also from this shipment, birthed less than 200 miles away, and made with a majority of the same grape, also from old vines, yet the wines are amazingly different from one another, and both amazing to drink. Try this with pork (especially Mangalista or Berkshire) chops, anything containing bacon, or dishes containing porcini (cepes, king bolete) mushrooms.  Drink now – 2018 +