Casa Mariols take on something more reminiscent of Catalunya, while Cariñena (Carignan) can be a hard grape to find sometimes, in Terra Alta it's something the locals drink everyday. The grape has a unique cured meat quality, which marries with tobacco leaf scents. With tart cranberry and rasberry fruit it's hard not to fall in love.
A blend of three Carignans, from a worldclass winery lurking in the depths of one of the Old World's "wine lakes", the Matassa Rouge is a cellar-worthy red with complex earthiness and licorice underlying delectable fruit notes.