Réne Barbier Clos Mogador 2023

When I first put my nose in the glass of the 2023 Clos Mogador, I felt the freshness of spring flowers and lots of herbs, but the wine was a little closed and shy. I'm always excited when facing a new vintage of Clos Mogador, a wine that has been very important for Priorat and for my understanding of the Mediterranean. This year, the wine feels very balanced and has more elegance, and it's fine-boned and with very fine tannins. It's focused, clean and very neat; it doesn't feel chameleonic like some years when its young. This is more energetic, and there's no concern about the body; it's powerful and has abundant tannins, a wine for the long run. This is a step up in precision, freshness and elegance. It's subtle and elegant despite the notable ripeness. It fermented with 100% uncrushed grapes. They are removing the Cabernet and Syrah (in 2025, the wine is approximately 50% Cariñena and 50% Garnacha), and they are using less and less barriques. This is a very serious Mogador. This year, they produced less, just 28,000 bottles.

By Luis Gutierrez May 2026