A blast from the past! Damian and Carolyn come to visit.

  My longtime friend and his wife, Damian and Carolyn, came to see me last week. Damian was one of the first people I met after moving to Napa. He was with Joseph Phelps Vineyards for almost forty years and made a huge contribution to the success of the winery. And, yes, this is the same Damian who used to call me "Jethro". It was funny then and it's still funny! Also, maybe a little more accurate than not in those days. Carolyn is a retired math teacher and has three daughters.
   Carolyn and Damian have been spending a few months a year in Rasteau since they retired. They're talking about buying a second home there. I hope they do so I can go over there and camp out for a few days. It's one of my favorite places!
   They spent a few days in Barcelona before coming to Falset. Carolyn and Damian came to El Masroig and we toured the village. By now, the people here are accustomed to see me leading groups through town. They just can't figure out why.
   I made reservations at a couple of wineries for tastings and tours on Wednesday. Our first stop was Mas Perinet. Mas Perinet is now owned by Americans. It's a really fabulous facility and they have around forty acres of really steep vineyards in Priorat and Montsant. I was there last year and our tour guide, Sara, remembered me.
   Sara asked us if we wanted to tour the vineyards and we agreed. We climbed into an open 4X4 and Sara took off up the mountainside. Sara told us the grade was 25% but it looked like straight up. We've had a lot of rain here lately and the ground is soft. We made our way through the vineyards with fish-tailing, rocks flying and bouncing up the mountain. Coming down was just as bad because there were ruts over a foot deep from erosion due to rain.
   I'm not a timid man but I was as frightened as I've been in a while. I'll have to admit the view from the top is spectacular. We got to check out the vineyards. They had been abandoned for a couple of years before the Americans took over. I was glad to see the work that's been done to bring them back into production.
   The wines at Mas Perinet are very good. I know the winemaker (Toni Sanchez) and he's a talented young man. Sara gives a great tour and we tasted out of multiple barrels. The winery is what I call "gold plated". Whoever built it spared no expense and the barrel room has a Gaudi inspired design.
   From there, it was on to Mas Doix. Mas Doix is the other side of Priorat winemaking as far as facilities are concerned. It's very small and homey. They have barrel storage downstairs that's cut into the rock. As mentioned in another post, they're working on a new winery and hope to be in next year.
   We had lunch in the plaza of Scala Dei. Carolyn and Damian had the conejo (rabbit) and said it was good. I drove them out to the Priory to look but we didn't go in. We stopped by my vineyards on the way home. Damian expressed his approval. Damian's son bought a vineyard in Colchuaga, Chile and Damian will go down to help him in November.
   On Thursday, we went for a short walking tour of Tarragona and saw the Roman amphitheater, Circus and part of the old town. It was threatening rain and we got rained on just before getting to the restaurant. We had lunch at L'Ancona. I like that place. We had Iberica, patatas bravas, mussels and shrimp. Damian ordered a bottle of Muga rosé which was tasty and went well with the food.
   I had to dash off to Penedés after lunch for business. Carolyn and Damian headed back to France the next morning and planned to stop at the Dali museum on the way. It was wonderful to see them and I hope they come back!

                Carolyn and Damian with what may be the world's tallest grapevine in El Masroig.

                                         Just before the harrowing ride through the vineyards.

                     Sara, Damian and Carolyn examining the shale that makes up the "soil" of Priorat.

                          Lot's of fruit on the ground. It was a tough year for Grenache in some places.

                                                   In the "gold plated" cellar at Mas Perinet.

                                  Damian with Valenti Llagostera underground at Mas Doix.

                                                            Lunch in Scala Dei.

                                             Finca Vieja and El Molar in the background.

                                                 Carolyn preparing to catch the pot of gold.