Tiny Village, Great Wine

Priorat, the old vine wine region just south of Barcelona, permits the name of one of its 12 historic villages to grace a bottle of wine, but only if 100 percent of the grapes used are grown within that municipality.

This is micro terroir at its best: Porrera Vi de Vila is Vall Llach's tribute to its village and inhabitants, and what a tribute this blend turned out to be. The 2010 wine, 70 percent old-vine cariñena and 30 percent old-vine garnacha is a gorgeous deep red in the glass, round and full in the mouth, with silky tannins and a long, long finish.

Both lush and elegant, less jammy than Vall Llach's saucy Embruix or stunning Idus blends, the Porrera Vi de Vila 2010 is a beautifully balanced wine full of dark red fruit, licorice, and a bit of herb in the nose. Ready to drink now, it will only improve with a few more years in the bottle. Allow the wine to breathe for half an hour before enjoying.