“Mas Martinet needs no introduction. They are one of the pioneers of the Priorat renaissance from 1989.” – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

There you go, it’s like being handed 40 bucks along with the best possible deal on a super rare cult red.

Clos Erasmus, Clos Mogador, and Clos Martinet are the trifecta of Priorat that dreams are made of. They represent the true essence of this mountainous appellation, which alongside Rioja is the only other Spanish wine region entitled to the top designation of DOQ, or Denominació d’Origen Qualificada.

Just about a dozen shops nationwide carry this wine. Their prices? Starts at $80 and goes well over $100. It’s $59 here today, with double the 96 points.

While there’s a lot to be said about this monumental wine, there isn’t a lot to offer sadly and the press notes below speak volumes. We’re therefore leaving you with these profound thoughts by Neal Martin of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate that say it all…

“When making a maiden visit to a wine region and knocking on the door of properties, there will always be one that stands out from the rest. There will be one where the wine enraptures and stimulates the senses unlike any other and offers food for thought long after you have departed with renewed spring in your step. On this occasion, it was Mas Martinet. My senses were almost overwhelmed by the thrilling wines and winemaker Sara Pérez’s passionate explanation of her philosophies, which challenge the status quo in Priorat.”

96 Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous

“Sara Pérez runs Mas Martinet, established in 1989 by her father, Josep Luis Pérez Ovejero, one of Priorat’s founding fathers. Based in Falset, the family owns 22 hectares of high-altitude, slate-rich vineyards in Gratallops. They make three single-vineyard bottlings and an entry-level blend called Martinet Bru. Pérez is among the most innovative winemakers in a region that has no shortage of them. All of the vineyards are farmed organically and the wines, which are on the distinctly elegant side for Priorat, are made with native yeasts and no added enzymes. Sara Pérez was among the first here to use clay amphoras, a practice that has caught on across Spain. The vines are almost all very old, thus their yield is quite small and the single-site wines aren’t usually easy to find. Mas Martinet is one of the leading estates in Spain, by my estimation. Brilliant ruby. A highly perfumed bouquet features fresh red and blue fruits, exotic spices and smoky minerals, and a suave floral top note builds with air. Stains the palate with sweet, spice-laced black raspberry, cherry cola, star anise and floral pastille flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Shows superb clarity and mineral thrust on the long, floral-dominated finish, which is given shape and grip by fine-grained, polished tannins. Drink 2025-2035.”

96 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“Mas Martinet is one of the pioneers of the new Priorat, the project of the Pérez family. Since in 2017, they no longer use a sorting table and don’t do a pied de cuve, but all of their fermentations are with the yeasts from the grapes; and they stopped cooling the grapes 15 years ago. From 2006 to 2016, they increased the amount of full clusters in their fermentations, which are all now 100% full cluster for all the wines except for the Martinet Bru. They have 25 hectares of vineyards in five different locations that are organically and biodynamically farmed with permaculture and regenerative agriculture. They consider 2018 a turning point in their wines, a cool vintage that delivered narrow and tense wines - elegant, long, tight and spicy wines placed between two warm years, 2017 and 2019. They told me 2018 is a year for reflection and risk, take off and jump into the void! The flagship 2018 Clos Martinet is the wine that started it all and is still a blend of Garnacha (Tinta and Peluda), Syrah, Cariñena, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Monastrell as it was since the beginning but now with a restrained 13.5% alcohol and higher acidity. Clos Martinet is a single five-hectare terraced vineyard planted with clonal material in 1986 on decomposed llicorella slate, iron and big rocks in the soil. The varieties are co-fermented depending on the date picked—at three different ripening times—in two concrete vats and 200-liter oak vats with indigenous yeast and whole clusters. The beginning and end of the élevage was in concrete, and in between they used 2,000- and 4,100-liter oak vats and some 20% in glass demijohn and amphorae. This is a very elegant Clos Martinet. Drink 2021-2029.”