Celler Mas d’Escaladei | Priorat DOQ, Catalunya
By The VInomad
Celler Mas d’Escaladei takes its name from the ancient Carthusian monastery that gave birth to winemaking in Priorat over 800 years ago. Perched on impossibly steep terraces in the heart of the DOQ (Denominació d’Origen Qualificada — Spain’s highest classification), this family estate has been quietly crafting wines of extraordinary depth since 1994, working with centenarian Garnacha and Cariñena vines rooted in the region’s famed licorella — that dark, shimmering slate that fractures like glass underfoot.
The landscape here is extreme: gradients of 60%, altitude shifts from 300 to 700 metres, and a climate that swings between scorching days and cool mountain nights. Everything is hand-harvested. Everything is earned.
Winemaker Núria Escaladei works with surgical precision, allowing the wild personality of the licorella to speak without interference. No makeup. No tricks. Just old vines, ancient stone, and time.
Here are the wines that tell that story.
The Wines
🍷 Mas d’Escaladei “Les Terrasses” Blanc — Priorat DOQ
Vintage tasted: 2022
Grapes: 60% Garnacha Blanca, 30% Macabeo, 10% Pedro Ximénez
Alcohol: 13.5%
Ageing: 8 months in concrete eggs and old foudre
The VInomad’s Score: 92/100 ⭐ Editor’s Pick
Nose: Wild and mineral. Crushed white flowers, orchard pear, hints of white pepper and fennel seed. The licorella shows immediately — wet stone, flint, a smoky, almost saline edge. No oak noise, just raw terroir and fruit.
Palate: Surprising intensity. Textured and mouth-filling without weight. Ripe quince and apricot meet a razor-sharp minerality that cuts straight down the centre. The mid-palate is all tension — taut, chalky, electric. A whisper of herbal bitterness (thyme, sage) keeps it savoury and complex.
Finish: Long and stony. Citrus pith, crushed granite, salted almond. You feel the schist more than you taste it.
Food pairing: Grilled octopus with smoked paprika. Salt cod esqueixada. Roasted turbot. Aged Garrotxa cheese.
The verdict: A white Priorat that doesn’t try to be Burgundy or the Rhône — it’s entirely its own thing. Tense, mineral, profound. The kind of wine that makes you pay attention.
“This is what happens when you let 100-year-old vines and prehistoric slate do the talking. Stunning.”
— The VInomad
🍷 Mas d’Escaladei “Lloar” — Priorat DOQ
Vintage tasted: 2020
Grapes: 70% Garnacha, 30% Cariñena
Alcohol: 14.5%
Ageing: 14 months in French oak (30% new)
The VInomad’s Score: 91/100
Nose: Dark and brooding. Black cherry, wild raspberry, crushed violet. Beneath the fruit: liquorice root, dried lavender, ground black pepper, a hint of graphite. The oak is well-judged — present but never loud.
Palate: Structured but not aggressive. Dense red and black fruit wrapped in firm, fine-grained tannins. The licorella gives this wine a kind of mineral backbone — a core of stony austerity that stops the ripeness from becoming heavy. Mid-palate shows garrigue herbs, dark chocolate, a touch of smoked meat.
Finish: Medium-long, savoury, with persistent mineral grip and echoes of dark spice and wild berry. Built to age for another 8–10 years.
Food pairing: Grilled lamb shoulder with rosemary. Fricandó (Catalan beef stew). Charcoal-grilled botifarra. Aged Manchego.
The verdict: Textbook Priorat — powerful but elegant, ripe but never cooked. This is what Garnacha and Cariñena can do when old vines meet serious terroir.
“If you want to understand Priorat without spending a fortune, start here.”
— The VInomad
🍷 Mas d’Escaladei “Éssencia de Pedra” — Priorat DOQ
Vintage tasted: 2019
Grapes: 90% Garnacha, 10% Cariñena (vines 80–120 years old)
Alcohol: 15%
Ageing: 18 months in French oak (50% new), plus 12 months in bottle
The VInomad’s Score: 95/100 🏆 Exceptional
This is the estate’s flagship — a wine from a single parcel of pre-phylloxera Garnacha planted in 1902 on a vertiginous terrace of pure licorella. Yields are brutal: 12 hectolitres per hectare. Fewer than 1,200 bottles made.
Nose: The complexity here is astonishing. Layers unfold slowly: blackcurrant, kirsch, dried fig, violet pastille. Then darker, more mysterious notes: tar, wet earth, crushed herbs, incense, truffle. The minerality is profound — graphite, crushed slate, iron. This is a nose you could study for an hour.
Palate: Powerful, but never brutal. Dense, concentrated fruit — blackberry, black plum, wild strawberry — framed by monumental structure. Tannins are firm but velvety, perfectly ripe. The licorella runs through everything like a vein of iron — lifting, shaping, defining. The oak is seamlessly integrated. There’s a core of freshness and salinity that keeps this wine alive and dancing despite its size.
Finish: Endless. Two minutes later, you still taste slate, dark cherry, espresso, and crushed flowers. This is a wine built for decades.
Food pairing: Dry-aged beef rib. Wild boar with chocolate and chestnuts. Idiazábal cheese. Or simply cellared for a special occasion yet to come.
The verdict: One of the finest expressions of Garnacha and licorella you will find anywhere in Priorat. A wine of profound seriousness and unmistakable identity. At its price, it competes with the region’s most celebrated estates — and wins.
“Éssencia de Pedra translates to ‘essence of stone.’ Taste it, and you’ll understand why. This is Priorat in its purest, most compelling form.”
— The VInomad
🍷 Mas d’Escaladei “Vi Ranci” — Priorat DOQ
Vintage tasted: Solera (average age 15+ years)
Grape: 100% Garnacha (late harvest, naturally oxidised)
Alcohol: 17% (naturally achieved)
Format: 50cl
The VInomad’s Score: 94/100 🏆 Exceptional
Vi Ranci is Catalonia’s answer to Fondillón or old Banyuls — an ancient style of naturally oxidised sweet wine made from late-harvested Garnacha aged in barrel for years, often in solera. It is rare, nearly forgotten, and absolutely magical.
Nose: Intoxicating. Dried fig, prune, walnut skin, orange peel confit, caramelised chestnut. Then layers of rancio character: toffee, hazelnut cream, aged balsamic, tobacco, old leather. A whisper of smoked cinnamon and dark honey. Complex, haunting, meditative.
Palate: Sweet, but never cloying. The oxidation brings a savoury, almost umami edge that balances the richness perfectly. Flavours of molasses, roasted nuts, candied orange, dark chocolate with chilli. The texture is silky and enveloping. A thread of acidity keeps everything lifted and vibrant.
Finish: Very long. Echoes of salted caramel, dried fruit, and spiced tea linger for minutes.
Food pairing: Dark chocolate torte. Roquefort or Cabrales. Foie gras. Crema catalana. Or sipped slowly by a fire with nothing but thought.
The verdict: A window into Catalonia’s winemaking past, crafted with reverence and extraordinary skill. This is a wine for reflection, not conversation.
“History lives in this glass. If you’ve never tasted Vi Ranci, this is your initiation.”
— The VInomad
Summary Table
| Wine | Score | Price | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Les Terrasses Blanc 2022 | 92 ⭐ | €€ | Tense, mineral, unforgettable white. |
| Lloar 2020 | 91 | €€ | Classic Priorat. Structured & savory. |
| Éssencia de Pedra 2019 | 95 🏆 | €€€€ | Flagship. Profound & age-worthy. |
| Vi Ranci Solera | 94 🏆 | €€€ | Rare, historic, haunting. |
The Bodega
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Name | Celler Mas d’Escaladei |
| Location | La Morera de Montsant, Priorat |
| Classification | Priorat DOQ (Denominació d’Origen Qualificada) |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Winemaker | Núria Escaladei |
| Vineyard area | 12 hectares (all terraced licorella) |
| Website | cellermasescaladei.cat |
| Visits | By appointment only |
The VInomad