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Toni Sanchez

Bessons 2014

Price: $42.95
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Tasting notes

Three years in old wood on a hot-climate Grenache-Carignan blend from 500-meter licorella vineyards produces something dense and mineral at once, with dried herb and dark fruit that read more like garrigue than jam. The cooler 2014 vintage kept enough acidity to give this wine real length despite its concentration.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
GarrigueBlack CherriesTobaccoLicorice
  • Style: Full-bodied natural red; Grenache and Carignan; old vines in Gratallops at 500m; 3 years in old wood; zero additions
  • Grapes & Terroir: Grenache and Carignan; organically farmed old vines; licorella (black and reddish slate with quartz and mica); Gratallops, 500m elevation
  • Winemaking: Hand-harvested; native yeast fermentation; 3 years élevage in old wood; unfined, unfiltered; zero additions
  • Serving: Serve at 62-66F; decant 30-45 min; best with food
  • Pairing: Lamb, wild boar, aged Manchego, herb-crusted meats, black olive tapenade
  • Similar To: For fans of structured southern Rhone reds and old-vine Carignan who want natural-process concentration

Bessons 2014 comes from an old parcel of vines in Gratallops, the village at the heart of DOQ Priorat in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia. The vineyard sits at 500 meters above sea level on licorella, the region's characteristic black and reddish slate soil laced with mica and quartz particles. Vines here root deeply through fractured schist to find water, producing tiny yields of intensely concentrated fruit.

The blend is Grenache and Carignan, two varieties that have defined Priorat for centuries. After hand-harvesting and fermentation with native yeasts, the wine spent three years in wood before bottling. No additions. The extended élevage allowed the structure of the 2014 vintage, a cooler and higher-acid year in Priorat, to integrate fully.

Antoni Sanchez-Ortiz makes Bessons outside the DOQ classification system, preferring to focus on soil health and natural farming over regulatory compliance. The vineyards have been organically farmed since 2007. Production is tiny and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration.

By the time this 2014 reached bottle, it had more than a decade of total age between élevage and release. Gratallops wines are known for their concentration and mineral depth; at 500 meters the fruit retains more acidity and lift than lower-altitude sites in the same village.

The tannin and mineral depth here suit lamb chops cooked over open flame, aged Manchego, or slow-braised wild boar. It also holds its own against dishes with Mediterranean herbs like thyme, rosemary, and black olive. Decant for at least 30 minutes.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Full Body
Grapes:, Grenache, Carignan
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2014
Alcohol:, N/A
Country:, Spain
Region:, Priorat
Appellation:, Vino de Mesa (Gratallops, Priorat)
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

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Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

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Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

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Producer profile

Toni Sanchez

Antoni Sanchez-Ortiz was born in 1978 in a small valley in the Spanish Pyrenees. He trained in enology at the University of Tarragona and the University Victor Segalen in Bordeaux, and holds a Master's degree in Chemistry from the University of Barcelona. He spent more than 18 years working as a winemaker and viticulturist within DOQ Priorat, including a role at Melis and later directing vineyard work and winemaking at Perinet winery from 2015.

Bessons is Toni's personal project, based in Gratallops in the heart of Priorat. The label operates outside the DOQ classification, prioritizing soil health and minimal intervention over regulatory compliance. The vineyards have been farmed organically since 2007. His partner Behn Payten later joined the project, which was subsequently rebranded as Coastal Wines, though the Bessons wines retain their original identity.

Bessons wines are made with hand-harvested fruit, native yeast fermentation, and zero additions throughout the winemaking process. The 2014 Bessons spent three years in old wood before bottling, a long élevage that allows the structure of old-vine Grenache and Carignan on licorella soils to fully integrate. No fining agents, no filtration, no sulfur additions are used.

Wine region

Priorat, Spain

Priorat is a DOQ (Denominació d'Origen Qualificada) in the province of Tarragona in southwest Catalonia, approximately 90 miles southwest of Barcelona. It is one of only two wine regions in Spain to hold DOQ/DOCa status, alongside Rioja. The region is defined by steep, terraced hillsides carved from ancient schist, with vineyards planted at altitudes ranging from 100 to 750 meters above sea level. The climate is continental with Mediterranean influence: long, hot, very dry summers and cold winters, with annual rainfall of just 400 to 600mm. These conditions, combined with nutrient-poor soils, force extremely low yields.

The defining soil of Priorat is licorella, a black and reddish slate composed of Silurian-era schist and quartz with embedded mica particles. Licorella retains heat, reflects sunlight onto ripening clusters, and forces vine roots to penetrate deep into fractured rock in search of water, producing wines with a distinctive mineral, graphite signature. The DOQ encompasses 12 villages including Gratallops, Porrera, Torroja del Priorat, and Bellmunt del Priorat. Each village produces wines of slightly different character; Gratallops, the de facto center of the region, is known for concentration and dark mineral intensity. The primary red varieties authorized are Grenache (Garnatxa) and Carignan (Carinyena), with smaller plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot also permitted.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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