I am completely unfamiliar with priorate wines and have had this waiting in my cellar and feel like opening it soon. Any suggestions on decant vs no decant? How much air time? All input is welcomed.
While Priorat wines can be big, I rarely find them notably tannic. Open and enjoy.
I would just pop and pour, follow it over the span of time you have. I would think it’s more likely to lose freshness and vibrancy with a long decant.
That particular wine has unique aromatics and you’re going to lose some of them if you decant for a long time. It’s usually about half Cariñena, which in that region sometimes likes a little airing, but it still retains a kind of shoe-polish note. The other half is hairy Garnacha, which is a mutation of regular Garnacha that has fuzzy leaves and that is slightly more acidic than regular Garnacha, which is generally low in acids. And she uses hardly any sulfur, so there’s not a lot of that to blow off. While the Cariñena provides some tannins, it’s also a fairly acidic grape in that region, so it’s not like you need time for the wine to soften. I would open and drink slowly so you can watch it evolve.
But keep in mind that some other Priorat wines that have Cabernet or Syrah or other blends and different wine making styles and might be nicer with a bit of decanting, so it’s not like they’re all going to be similar in that respect. She’s biodynamic/organic and all of that.
All that said, I don’t think I’ve ever decanted Priorat wines. Enjoy!
Seems like I shall be opening and drimnking slowly. Hope it’s delicious. Thanks all!
Hi Jerome,
Nit the Nin is a very feminine Priorat made by Ester Nin… it has huge minerality and great freshness from the Carignan! I would just remove the cork (slow-ox) 1-2 hours in advance… It is one of my preferred Priorat, so I hope you also enjoy it 
It was utterly delicious! Full of berries, cherries, with a hint of secondary and tertiary notes with a good amounts of acid. If this is what priorat is, call me a fan.
I like that wine a lot as well (not referring to your specific vintage). Priorat wines can be beautiful in the way you described. There are also many Priorat which are very big, modern and oaked too, so if you are looking for more balanced styles, you would want to do some research and shop accordingly.
Good advice. It’s still an area in flux and people are figuring out what direction they want to go. The blends can be very different too, some very heavy on the Cariñena, some using very little. Interesting area to explore.
Any suggestions for wines I can look for if I really liked this?
Mas Doix Costers de Vinyes Velles.
I was going to suggest Mas Doix as well. Their “Salanques” bottling is in the $30s and quite good.
Thanks for the suggestions.