Meritxell Palleja 'La Costa del Riu'' Priorat 2017

Meritxell Palleja 'La Costa del Riu'' is made from 100% Grenache and is bursting with ripe red fruit notes, dark cherry and herbs along with a smoky/earthy edge which adds wonderful complexity. La Costa del Riu is a single vineyard in Gratallops which is protected from the weather by the Damunt Roca mountain range and is ideally situated to produce high-quality Grenache. This is fantastic example of Priorat and the Grenache grape.

Having spent 15 years working under the renowned Alvaro Palacios, Meritxell Palleja decided to go her own way and put all her efforts into her own small project, which she had been working on for several years and had called Nita, named after her grandmother’s house. Nita was a wine which Meritxell had first made in 2004 from small parcels of grapes which she had bought from family and friends. The project grew over the years by acquiring vineyards with her partner and brother and in 2015 they finally built their own winery in Gratallops.

In addition to Nita, Meritxell also bottles three single vineyard wines along with a little white wine. The vineyards have their own unique characteristics but the presence of licorella, as it is known in Catalan, is present in all of them. It is a reddish-black slate that is unique to the area. As a result of working with Domaine Leflaive in her early years, Meritxell is a strong believer in Biodynamics and therefore, like most good winemakers, works tirelessly to maintain healthy, living vineyards.