Why it matters
The producer
Carles Pastrana arrived in Gratallops in the 1980s when Priorat was a largely forgotten slate-hill region in southern Catalonia, producing rough bulk wine with almost no commercial winemaking infrastructure. He was one of four producers who changed that. Together with Mariona Jarque, Pastrana founded Costers del Siurana in 1987, built their operation around the Mas d'En Bruno estate, and introduced a style that ran against what would become the dominant Priorat register: their wines lean toward mineral character and clean acidity rather than the high-extraction, deeply concentrated end of the appellation. Clos de l'Obac, the estate's founding red blend, became the commercial anchor and still carries the producer's name into international markets. Current winemaking falls to Isidre Sanahujes and Joan Jarque.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Priorat DOCa sits in the province of Tarragona, roughly 45 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean coast. It is one of only two Denominació d'Origen Qualificada zones in Spain, a classification shared with Rioja, reserved for appellations with legally defined quality controls beyond the standard DO framework. Gratallops is a small village at the interior of that zone, surrounded by steep hillside vineyards and the kind of terrain that keeps yields low and forces vines to work hard. Bottles labelled Priorat DOCa come from this territory, and the classification on the label is a signal that the wine meets a higher regulatory threshold than most Spanish red. At Costers del Siurana, that label marks wines from their own parcels around Gratallops, grown under natural farming practices.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The 50 hectares at Mas d'En Bruno include both indigenous and international grape varieties. Vine age is a practical resource: older vines produce fewer bunches per plant, concentrating flavour into smaller volumes of fruit, and in Priorat's terrain that concentration arrives alongside the mineral character of hillside-grown grapes. The estate farms naturally, which in practice means minimal intervention in the vineyard and a working philosophy that treats the land as a long-term asset rather than a high-output production system. The winemaking approach favours the elegance end of the Priorat spectrum, a deliberate choice that separates Costers del Siurana from producers who push toward maximum extraction and deep tannin.
Wines to know
The range in view
Clos de l'Obac is the flagship red blend, grown from estate parcels in Gratallops and the wine that established the producer's market position. It is a dry red that draws on both indigenous and international varieties, carrying dark berry fruit, ripe plum, and a background of warm spice. The acidity is firm enough to give the wine lift and length rather than heaviness, and the tannins are present but not built for shock. Dolç de l'Obac is a sweet wine from the estate; production method and full sensory profile are not confirmed beyond its classification as a dessert wine. Usatg appears as a further label in the range. Across the range, the producer's consistent orientation is toward mineral character and drinkable proportion rather than the biggest possible concentration.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Clos de l'Obac is the first bottle. It is a dry red blend from the estate's own Gratallops parcels, with dark berry and plum fruit, a spice note, firm acidity, and structured tannin. The wine sits clearly within Priorat DOCa without trying to be the appellation's heaviest expression. Buy it to understand what Priorat tastes like when the winemaker is working toward elegance and mineral lift rather than maximum weight.