Odysseus

The winery is called “Ithaca’s Vineyards” (Vinedos de Ithaca), and the truth is Jos Puig is crazy for Greek mythology. Odysseus has an amazing “Trojan Horse” on the cellar’s roof, and the winery is full of Greek tiles and paraphernalia. Jos’s daughter, Silvia, playfully rolls her eyes at the new Greek paintings of Daphne her dad has just brought over to the wine lab. Only in her thirties, Silvia is the winemaker of this new wave Priorat winery. We had the pleasure of visiting Odysseus lately at the wine fair in Falset, the wine capital of Priorat, and Silvia gave us the lay of the land. The Odysseus vineyards and winery are located at the base of the important hamlet of Gratallops.

The vineyards are on steep slopes, and the Llicorella (slate-like soils unique to Priorat) here is amazing. It crumbles to the touch and yet looks like rocks, impossible to grow vines in. Silvia has achieved phenomenal success with her wines in a concise period of time. This is a testament to her hard work and talent. She literally sleeps in the winery during vintage, and she can be found poking around the vines, the lab, or the cellars nearly every day of the week. Jos, her father, goes to the fairs and the tastings. After tasting the wines of Odysseus, we are keen to help Jos spread the word!

Odysseus makes Garnacha Tinta-based reds, as virtually all the producers in the Priorat DO. Still, Odysseus has become a darling of the winepress for their white 100% Garnacha Blanca wine. The wine is literally the color of gold, tops about 13% alcohol, and even needs to be decanted. It is full in the mouth, with an almost oily texture and incredible length for white wine. Odysseus also makes a white wine made with Pedro Ximenez, a fascinating grape normally limited to Sherry country in the south of Spain. In Priorat, it is neither fortified nor sweet but bone dry with pleasant flavors of raisins and licorice. The tasting at Odysseus left us with the impression that Priorat has got to be the most exciting region in Spain for wine at the moment. To have so many young people working in wine, including a high percentage of female winemakers (Sarah Perez is another famous young female winemaker in Priorat), so passionate about wine and dedicated to taking the region to the highest level, Priorat is certain to not only be a “fad” but a wine region with a long life.