Rare Trio Infernal - Don't Miss OUT!!
September 18, 2007
Craig had just returned from his ten
day trip to Barcelona in early June. He walked into the The Wine
Consultant and immediately asked me, "Have you ever heard of Trio Infernal?....We looked everywhere, but could
not find anything they produced!" I was very impressed Craig
knew about Trio Infernal wines. I told him they should be
on every Priorat fanatic's "must have" list, but I had never seen a
single bottle. And it would be especially difficult to
find after Spain's leading newspaper El Mundo bestowed
the 2004 Trio Infernal Cuvee 2/3 with "Best Spanish Wine of the Year" honors in
2006.
Allow me to digress with a little background about three
passionate and crazy Frenchmen, aka "Trio Infernal"!
Who? Three very successful and
highly regarded Syrah producers from southern France; Laurent Combier
of Domaine Combier in Crozes-Hermitage, Peter Fischer of Château Revelette in
Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, and Jean-Michel Gerin of Domaine J-M Gerin in
Côte-Rôtie.
Where? In 2000 the partnership
purchased 50 acres of terraced old-vine Carignan and Grenache
parcels on the outskirts of a tiny "outpost" of a village
named Gratallops. Gratallops is situated in the steep and rugged, sun
baked hills of the Priorat region in Catalunya, southwest of Barcelona,
Spain. Presently, in what can only be described as
a tremendous undertaking against the most severe terrain, two thirds of the
property is being re-terraced and planted to include Syrah.
Why? The eventual goal is to
"conquer Syrah" in Spain. "Priorat is like Cote-Rotie was 100-years ago,"
says Gerin. Much of the soil on the property is composed of red schist, which is
unique to the area. All of these factors contribute to excellent wine, but to
yields that are a miserly 20 hl/ha (16 hl/ha = one ton per
acre).
When? Every 15
days, beginning at two in the morning, the partners share driving from
Avignon and arrive in Gratallops at about 8 o'clock to begin a full day of
viticulture work in their parcels. After an exhausting
day, the threesome drive back home; about a 500 mile round
trip. When the locals realized what these "road trips" entailed, they
coined the term "Tres Infernales" to describe the trio's obsessive, but
devoted behavior. The partners decided Trio
Infernal perfectly described their "kookie" endeavors: and thus
the name Trio Infernal was born to label their wines.
So, you can imagine my glee last July, when on
our first night in Gratallops while staying and dining at the Cal Llop
www.cal-llop.com , I discovered a
rare bottle of the 2004 Trio Infernal Cuvee 1/3 on the
wine list. Cuvee 1/3
is a blend of 60% Garnacha and 40% Carignan aged for 12 months in twice used
barrels. It displayed a penetrating kirsch-like nose with hints baking
spices, and the local wild scrub scents. Extremely supercharged
red berry flavors were punctuated with an
inky, mineral-like intensity. After about an hour after
decanting, the 1/3 evolved to display reduced balsamic notes on the nose
and palate that helped to make the assertive flavors of the roasted goat
haunch we shared even more delicious. www.thewineconsultant.com/wine/1156
We never found a bottle of the 2004 Trio
Infernal Cuvee 2/3. My understanding is it 100% Carignan
from 90 to100 year old vines, aged in new French oak barrique for 18
months. www.thewineconsultant.com/wine/1157
Last week, a WINE
MIRACLE took place. Let me just say
this...HELL YES!! I AM EXCITED!!! I found
a very small cache of the 2004 Trio Infernal 1/3
Cuvee imported into the US market. I have them all
within my grasp!!! AND, I also found a total of 36 bottles of
the 2004 Trio Infernal Cuvee 2/3 (yes, the very same
that was "Best Spanish Wine of the
Year" by El Mundo), and another 60 bottles on the east
coast. To the best of my understanding, the prices have not been
inflated as these wines are virtually unknown to Americans at this
time.
ORDER IMMEDIATELY BY REPLYING
DIRECTLY TO THIS E-MAIL!!
2004 Trio Infernal 1/3 Cuvee - $49.95 a bottle
2004 Trio Infernal 2/3 Cuvee - $99.95 a bottle
or for the BEST DEAL,
SAVE 10% by ordering the following set(s) of
four bottles:
3 bottles 2004 Trio Infernal 1/3, AND
1 bottle of 2004 Trio Infernal 2/3 for $224.84
ok.....maybe I will have
a bottle of the 1/3 Cuvee open at the tasting bar this
Saturday!
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