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Priorat can be defined by its mountain viticulture. Like Ribeira Sacra in Galicia, the enchanting mountains, ridges, hillsides and costers ("steep slopes" in the Catalan language) of Priorat make for a pretty tortuous geography, resisting mechanised farming methods and requiring winegrowers to farm small plots (the whole DOQ only covers some 2,000 hectares) with famously low yields, arrange their vineyards in terraces to facilitate access and, in some cases, use traditional methods like horse or donkey to till the land between the vines.

Another key aspect that sets Priorat apart from other wine-growing regions is the famous crumbling black slate and quartz soil known in Catalan as llicorella. Nutrient-poor, the grapes are forced to dig deep for sustenance, which helps give Priorat wines a distinctive mineral concentration that has become their hallmark.

Old vine Garnacha and Samsó are the stars here, traditionally producing quite rich, powerful red wines with notes of liquorice, tar, and black cherries.

Perhaps the world’s most famous red grape, Cabernet Sauvignon is a cross between Cabernet Franc and the white grape, Sauvignon Blanc. Fanning out from its home in Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon is now pretty much the world’s most widely planted red wine grape (just pipped at the post by Kyoho which grown at large scale in China), and has proved popular in both New and Old Worlds. In Spain, it covers about 20,000 hectares, about the same as Syrah. However, Cabernet Sauvignon is a more adaptable grape and you will find more single varietal examples of Spanish Cabernet Sauvignon than Syrah.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a thick-skinned, late-ripening grape, which grows in small, conical-shaped clusters. Its thick skin, which is rather bluish in tone when on the vine, gives it plenty of colour and tannin, and it has well-defined fruit flavours, all of which help it stand up well to wood and make it the perfect candidate for ageing in oak barrels.

Cabernet Sauvignon covers a pretty broad spectrum of flavours depending on where its grown and its degree of ripeness. When not fully ripe, you can expect fresh peppers and herbaceous, slightly bitter notes. But as it ripens that changes, and more concentrated fruit favours begin to emerge like blackcurrant or even blackcurrant lozenge. It also works well with oak, and as it ages in barrels it can take on enticing aromas of clove, spice and musk, liquorice, vanilla pods, sandalwood and cedar (which might remind you of the inside of a cigar box).

Cariñena or Carignan (aka Mazuelo) was once the dominant grape variety in much of Spain, as well as southern France. In fact, its popularity in areas like Languedoc-Rousillon made it France’s most planted grape variety at one point in the 20th century before it fell out of favour. These days it has staged a bit of a comeback, and in Spain you’ll find the variety in Rioja, Aragon and Catalunya. In Rioja, Mazuelo is valued because its high tannins and acidity make it a good partner for Tempranillo-based wines designed to be aged for a few years before being drunk.

Garnacha is one of the most widely grown wine grapes in the world and in Spain it's about the third most grown red grape behind Tempranillo and Bobal.

It's a late-ripening variety which enjoys hot, dry conditions, which makes it a reliably robust choice for winemakers. In the northeast of Spain, Garnacha tends to produce quite soft, easy-drinking red wines. It's low in tannins, so you don't get that woody, dry sensation in the mouth. But because it's late ripening it can also be quite high in alcohol as the fruit has more time to develop the sugars which then become alcohol in the wine.

In terms of fruit, in younger wines you’ll pick up good bursts of red fruit like strawberry and raspberry. And in the varieties made with older vines that have been aged for a little you start to get sweeter, deeper fruit flavours reminiscent of figs. Occasionally you might also find a lick of white pepper just on top of the wine, which can add a nice touch of character.

Merlot is a red wine grape originally from Bordeaux, and from the early 19th century is started to be used in wines from that region. Its fame spread, and Merlot is now grown in close to 40 countries across the world covering a total of over 270,000 hectares. It remains especially popular in France where Merlot accounts for about 14% of the total vineyard area. Some of the best examples of come from its native Bordeaux where it’s the dominant grape variety on the Right Bank (while Cabernet Sauvignon rules on the Left Bank), and it’s the core component of wines from iconic producers like Château Pétrus. In Spain, there are about 12,000 hectares of Merlot, mostly in Castilla La Mancha, Catalunya, Aragon and Navarra.

Syrah is a popular red grape variety originally from the Rhône Valley in France. It has a beautiful deep colour and high tannins, and works well in warmer climates, producing a variety of different styles depending on where it is grown. In cooler climates, Syrah wines will tend to be more peppery, while warmer climate wines will be rounder, smoother and richer.

Syrah was exported to ¨New World¨ wine producing countries like Australia, Argentina, Chile, South Africa or the US and is now often referred to as an ¨international¨ variety. Globally, there are about 200,000 hectares of Syrah planted (ie about the sixth most popular variety) and there’s lots in Australia where they call it Shiraz and it accounts for about a quarter of all vines planted. In Spain, Syrah vineyards cover about 20,000 hectares (c. 2% of total vineyard area) and you’ll find it planted mostly in ¨the two Castilles¨ (Castilla y León and Castilla La Mancha) and Catalunya.

Les Cousins is a project run by cousins Marc and Adrià Pérez in the village of Porrera in Priorat. Wine was in their blood from the beginning – as the son and nephew of Josep Lluís Pérez, one of the leading figures of the “Priorat Revolution”, they cut their teeth in the prestigious family wineries of Mas de Martinet and Cims de Porrera. After a global wine education that took in countries as far afield as Uruguay and South Africa, as well as Bordeaux and Burgundy, in 2007 they began making wines in Priorat.

The grapes are manually harvested in 12 kg boxes. When the grapes arrive at the winery, they undergo a manual selection to weed out any sub-standard fruit, before being destemmed and put into stainless steel tanks to ferment. Once fermentation is complete the wine ages for 12 months in French oak barrels.