Are you thinking of visiting wineries in the Priorat?
If so, you're making an excellent decision. Priorat wineries are not just home to some of Spain's finest wines – but the wine region itself is spectacular.
The Priorat wine region features steep valleys, distinctive black soil and many wineries continue the tradition of hand-harvesting grapes.
Even better?
The Priorat wine region is just a two-hour drive from Barcelona!
But with so many exceptional Priorat wineries to explore, planning a visit in just a day or two can be challenging. Which wineries should you visit? How do you make the most of your time?
To help you plan the perfect trip, we’ve created a list of the 14 best wineries in Priorat.
Barcelona Inside & Out offers private Priorat wine tours tailored to your preferences, with optional pickup and drop-off in Barcelona or Tarragona.
14 of the best wineries to visit in Priorat
1. Scala Dei
Scala Dei is one of the oldest wineries in the area. It traces its history back to the 1200s, when the monks at the nearby Escaladei Monastery (from which it takes its name) introduced vines to the area for the first time and kickstarted the winemaking industry in the Priorat.
It was the first winery in the region to bottle wine, in 1878. Unfortunately, the region was soon devastated by the phylloxera pest, which more or less led to the collapse of the winemaking business in the area. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the replanting of the region’s famous vineyards began in earnest and the winery was refounded, in 1970.
What are their best wines?
Scala Dei makes some of the best wine in the Priorat region and their vineyards are located at a higher altitude than others, adding to the flavour of the wine. They make a very good dry white and rose, as well as the red wine characteristic of the region.
2. Álvaro Palacios
Álvaro Palacios was one of the five winemakers to kickstart the ‘new Priorat’ in 1989, along with René Barbier (Clos Mogador), Carles Pastrana (Clos de l’Obac), Josep Pérez (Clos Martinet) and Daphne Glorian (Clos Erasmus). Heir to the Bodegas Palacios Remondo in La Rioja, Álvaro left the family estate to join the project that would ultimately catapult the region to international fame.
L’Ermita, sourced from a tiny vineyard planted with old vines near Gratallops, soon became one of the most expensive and sought-after wines in the area and is regarded as one of the best wines in the world. Indeed, it’s rated the best wine in the Priorat by Decantalo. It’s not uncommon for a bottle of L’Ermita to fetch up to €2,000!
Álvaro later went on to rejoin the family estate in the Rioja, where he also makes excellent wines.
What are their best wines?
We’ve already mentioned the famous L’Ermita, however, he also produces many other excellent wines. For example, Álvaro’s Camins del Priorat, a wine known for the quality it provides at a reasonable price, has probably introduced more wine lovers to the region than any other.
We regularly take wine lovers for a tasting and wine tour at Álvaro Palacios' winery in the Priorat. Click here to book your Priorat wine tour.
3. Clos Mogador
Clos Mogador is another of the original five wineries that put the region back on the map back in the 1980s and 1990s. René Barbier, the founder of Clos Mogador, was raised in Catalonia but is from a winemaking family from France. He first purchased land in the area in 1979, in anticipation of the first vintages that were produced from 1989.
Today, it is run by René’s son, René Jr., and there has been a shift to a focus on sustainability and biodiversity.
What are their best wines?
Clos Mogador’s flagship wine, Clos Mogador, is a powerful blend of Garnacha, Syrah, Cariñena, and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was their first wine and is still celebrated for its complexity, silky tannins and exceptional aging potential. Their Nelin white wine is equally iconic, showcasing vibrant freshness and depth. Both wines reflect Priorat's unique terroir and meticulous craftsmanship.
4. Clos i Terrasses
Clos i Terrasses was established by Daphne Glorian, originally from Switzerland, who was encouraged by her friends, Álvaro Palacios and René Barbier, to get involved in the growing wine industry in the region. Originally housed at Clos Mogador, Daphne eventually purchased an old wine cellar off Palacios, starting up her own winery there.
What are their best wines?
Daphne’s most famous wine is the Clos Erasmus, which was the first wine from the Priorat region to win 100 Parker Points. More recently, she’s been bottling Laurel, another excellent wine that is a little more affordable.
5. Vall Llach
Legendary Catalan singer Luis Llach and his friend, Enric Costa, started Vall Llach in the 1990s, inspired by the revival of the area in the years before. Initially, they thought just to help out the local growers, but it turned out the vines they bought, which were over a hundred years old, were really good.
Vall Llach made their first vintage in 1998 and were introduced onto the market in 2000. They also make olive oil and run several initiatives to support some of the local communities, such as donating profits to help sponsor leisurely activities for some of the local women.
What are their best wines?
Mas de la Rosa, the name of their vineyard, produces a wine of the same name that is regarded as one of the best single vineyard wines in the Priorat. Their wines are all based on the local Garnacha and Cariñena varieties, instead of the foreign Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah that were introduced to the region in the 1980s.
6. Clos de l’Obac
Carles Pastrana and his wife were some of the first to return to the region in the 1970s, after it had been decimated by pests towards the end of the 1800s.
They were attracted to the beautiful landscapes, old vines and the impressive winemaking history of the area.
What are their best wines?
Their flagship wine is truly unique and they have since added a few more to the mix, such as a white, an unusual sweet red and a second red that also uses Tempranillo. Their first vintage was in 1989 and their Clos de l’Obac wine is ranked as being in the top 150 in the world, according to the World Wine Guide.
7. Mas Doix
Mas Doix was founded by Valenti and Ramon Llagostera in 1998, both of whom returned to the region they grew up in once its reputation as one of the best winemaking areas in the world started to take off again. Some of the vineyards they make their wines from have been in their families for over five generations.
Their wines are an expression of the altitude and slate soils of Poboleda, where they are based, and their range is ranked as one of the best in the region.
What are some of their best wines?
Their Tossal d’en Bou was one of only three wines from the area which qualified for the new ‘grand cru’ classification of Gran Vinya Classificada (GVC), when it was first launched in 2019, along with Alvaro Palacios’ L’Ermita and Vall Llach’s Mas de la Rosa.
8. Mas Martinet
Mas Martinet was founded by Josep Luis Pérez in 1981, at a time when the region was still attempting to reestablish its identity as one of the best for winemaking in the world. Josep Pérez, regarded as one of the ‘Priorat Magnificent Five’, trained as a biologist before leaving his comfortable city life to move to what was then a remote and lesser-known corner of Spain.
Mas Martinet has a focus on sustainability and ‘eco-feminism’, as detailed on their website. Indeed, as well as producing great wines, they also want to regenerate the land, enhance biodiversity and support a viticulture that is both conscious and environmentally friendly.
What are their best wines?
Mas Martinet produces the famous Clos Martinet wine, which was voted the third best wine from the area by Decantlo in 2022. It’s made with Grenache and Carignan, as well as a small percentage of Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
9. Gran Clos
Gran Clos was founded in 1995 by Josep Maria Fuentes as Celler Fuentes, but took on new life after being bought by John Hunt, in 2002. Hunt is a British entrepreneur and owner of Oriel Wines, originally from the UK. He changed the name to Gran Clos and entrusted its winemaking to Josep Angel Mestre, a native of the area who was born and raised in the town of Falset.
Josep Angel’s family have been making wine in the area for over half a century and he studied agricultural and technical engineering, as well as enology, in order to continue the family business. He also studied winemaking in France.
Gran Clos was once voted the best winery in the region in a ten-year blind tasting by sommeliers and wine critics. It was also ranked a Top 100 Winery in 2020 by the magazine Wine and Spirits.
Some of their oldest vines are over a century old. Their primary plantings are Garnacha and Carinena, but they also have small plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo and Syrah. They also have a very small amount of white grapes which they use just to make a couple barrels of very fine white wine each year.
What are their best wines?
Their Cartus is their super prestige cuvee, made from vines that are over a hundred years old. Their Gran Clos is also an exceptional wine, and perhaps their most famous, containing a mix of Garnacha and Carignena. It’s also much more affordable than the Cartus!
10. Celler Cal Pla
Founded by Joan Sangenis in 1995, Celler Cal Pla is based in the village of Porrera and has over fifty hectares of south-facing vineyards, all at altitudes of 300 to 500 metres. Joan’s family has lived in the area for centuries and has been producing wine since 1814. Some of their vines are over a century old.
One of their family members, Jaume Montlleó Montlleó, was the first to detect the outbreak of the deadly phylloxera pest in the village, in 1893. Phylloxera devastated the winemaking industry in the region for almost a century, until its recent revival, towards the end of the twentieth century.
What are their best wines?
Their Mas D’en Compte is one of the only white wines made in the region and was once voted the best white wine in Spain by El Pais. Indeed, white wine production accounts for only two percent of wine production in the region.
11. Ferrer Bobet
One of the newest wineries in the area, Ferrer Bobet’s first wines didn’t make their way onto the market until 2008. Ferrer Bobet is a collaboration between wine loving businessman, Sergi Ferrer-Salat, and the star winemaker, Raul Bobet.
Every aspect of their production is meticulously thought through and they have a very modern-looking winery, has a commanding view from a hillside near the village of Porrera.
They acquired old Garnacha and Carinena vines, planted many years ago on steep slopes, but have also planted some of their own vines since they were first founded in 2002. Their vineyards are particularly high up and are also cooler than some of the surrounding areas. Vines work hard to reach water and the resulting low yield is characteristic of their wines.
What are their best wines?
Some of Ferrer Bobet’s best known wines include its star wine, Ferrer Bobet Selecció Especial, as well as its Vinyes Velles, which is dominated by the local Carineña grape variety, but also has hints of Garnacha.
12. Mas Alta
Mas Alta was founded in 1999 by a group of Belgian wine lovers, led by the fine wine broker Philippe Lambrecht. After being attracted to the area after hearing about its recent revival and rise to international fame, the group were attracted to the tiny hilltop village of La Vilella Alta, which is surrounded by terraced vineyards on extreme slopes.
Some of their vines are up to a century old, while they also have some other varieties they planted more recently. Their vineyards are at altitudes ranging from 250 to 450 metres above sea level.
What are their best wines?
Partnering with the famous Rhone winemaker, Michel Tardieu, their red and white wines have become some of the most highly regarded in the area. Their reds are dominated by Carignena and Garnacha, and their whites by Garnacha Blanca.
13. Mas d’en Gil
Mas d’en Gil is one of the oldest wine estates in the Priorat, with wines from the property being bottled as early as the 1800s. In 1998, the estate was bought by Pere Rovira, who, along with the rest of his family, have a long history of winemaking in the Penedès.
Pere and his family have always been focused on sustainability and in promoting biodiversity, but they have now incorporated organic and biodynamic production methods and also produce their own olive oil and vinegar.
Their property has five valleys and so produces a variety of grapes that respond to the different temperatures and soil present, making for an excited and varied range of wines.
What are their best wines?
Their Gran Buig is made only from their great vintages, which happened in 1998, 2004 and 2016. Meanwhile, their Bellmunt Red is much cheaper and is still a great wine, composed mainly of Garnacha and Carignan.
14. Costers del Priorat
Costers del Priorat was founded by a group of experienced wine growers and entrepreneurs in the world of wine in 2000, including Enric Solé, Pau Urgell, Josep Massana, Marc Massana and Josep Ramon Sedó. Josep Mas, an oenologist, joined the project in 2008.
They have vineyards located in eight different villages in the Priorat, as well as a winery that dates back to the 1400s, located in the heart of Les Solanes in El Molar.
Their winery houses three hundred barrels and large oak vats, as well as terracotta amphorae, and produces up to 90,000 litres of wine a year.
They produce some of the most unique and varied wines and the region and are well worth a visit.
What are their best wines?
Costers del Priorat produces two exceptional white wines from indigenous grapes like Garnacha Blanca and Macabeo, including an enchanting skin-contact white from old white vines interplanted in red vineyards. Don’t miss the rare Vi Ranci, oxidatively aged red wine made by blending vintages that date back to 1870.
Experience a Private Priorat Wine Tour
The Priorat region is renowned for its world-class wines, dramatic landscapes and boutique wineries. But navigating this rugged terrain and knowing which wineries to visit can be challenging without insider knowledge.
So why not take the guesswork out of your trip?
With us, you can visit top wineries, enjoy a 4x4 vineyard tour with panoramic views and savor a three-course lunch paired with exceptional local wines. Our close partnerships with the region’s best wineries ensure a bespoke itinerary designed around your preferences.
Travel in style with private luxury transport from Barcelona or Tarragona and let our knowledgeable guides handle all the details, so you can relax and enjoy.
Let us handle everything—just bring your love for wine and adventure.
Barcelona Inside & Out offers bespoke, private Priorat wine tours tailored to your preferences, with optional pickup and drop-off in Barcelona or Tarragona.