From the atlas
Clos I Terrasses
At A Glance
Clos i Terrasses is a red wine producer based at C/ de la Font, 1, in Gratallops, within Catalonia's Priorat area. Daphne Glorian began the estate in 1988 after investing her life savings in 17 vineyard terraces outside the village. The established range has two reds: Clos Erasmus, made from selected fruit, and Laurel, the broader production wine. Laurel is built around Garnatxa, with Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon adding darker fruit, colour and firmer tannin.
The Producer
Clos i Terrasses began with a financial commitment to a physical place. In 1988, Daphne Glorian bought 17 terraces in a wooded hollow outside Gratallops, then joined René Barbier, Álvaro Palacios, Carles Pastrana and Josep Lluís Pérez in the group that helped put modern Priorat on the map. In 1989, their pooled vineyards and resources produced one wine under five labels, including Clos Erasmus.
Today, Clos Erasmus and Laurel show two uses of the same estate resources. Clos Erasmus receives selected fruit from Escales, Aubagues and Socarrats. The remaining fruit from those sites goes into Laurel, which also draws on Guinarderes and Les Vaques. The first is made in roughly 3,200 bottles a year; the second in about 20,000.
Place
Gratallops gives the wines their village setting, while the estate's 25.6 hectares rise from 375 to 450 metres. That elevation range places the vineyards across different exposures and levels of heat, which helps explain why the estate works with several parcels and keeps varieties separate during fermentation.
The address is C/ de la Font, 1, in Gratallops. The supplied record does not name a more specific formal appellation, so the useful label language here is Priorat, Gratallops, Clos i Terrasses, and the named vineyard parcels. Laurel gathers fruit from a wider group of sites; Clos Erasmus narrows the selection.
Soil And Site
Escales is the estate's original parcel, 1.7 hectares spread across 17 terraces on a steep, wooded, north-facing slope. The terraces hold the vines in a landscape where exposure and aridity are practical farming conditions, not decorative details.
The upper seven terraces provide the clearest example. Syrah began to die there because of the warmth and generally arid soils. In 2019, those terraces were regraded into costers, or sloping vineyard ground, and replanted with Garnatxa. The change moved the planting toward a grape better suited to the parcel's conditions.
Story
Glorian was born in Paris, grew up between Switzerland and France, and eventually settled in Gratallops. Her decision to buy the terraces in 1988 became part of a wider Priorat project when she and four collaborators pooled vineyards and resources for the 1989 five-label release. The estate then changed its farming as its personnel changed. Ester Nin joined as Glorian's viticulturist in 2004, after which Clos i Terrasses converted to biodynamic farming. The 2019 replanting at Escales continued that practical approach: when Syrah failed in the warm, arid upper terraces, the vineyard was reshaped and Garnatxa went in.
Vineyards And Cellar
The estate is certified organic and has farmed biodynamically since 2004. Grapes are hand-harvested, then each variety ferments separately with indigenous yeasts. This keeps Garnatxa, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon distinct before the final blend, so the cellar can preserve their different fruit weight, colour and tannin.
Fermentation takes place in oak tanks, concrete and amphorae. The vessels give the wines several textures to work with: oak tanks provide a controlled environment without requiring a new-oak flavour, while concrete and amphorae leave the fruit and skin-derived grip more exposed. A 35-day maceration with occasional pigeage draws colour and tannin from the grapes and gives the finished reds a firm, lasting palate.
Wines
Clos Erasmus is the selected red of the range. Daphne Glorian chooses fruit from Escales, Aubagues and Socarrats, and the remaining fruit from those sites goes into Laurel. Its small annual production, about 3,200 bottles, reflects the selection made before blending. The wine's place in the range comes from parcel choice and fruit selection, not from a separate appellation named in the supplied record.
Laurel is the larger red, made in about 20,000 bottles a year. Its general blend is roughly 75% Garnatxa, 20% Syrah and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Younger Garnatxa comes from Aubagues; Socarrats contributes Garnatxa, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon; Guinarderes contributes Garnatxa and Syrah; Les Vaques contributes Garnatxa. That wider sourcing gives Laurel a broader fruit profile, with ripe Garnatxa at the centre, darker Syrah tones and a firmer Cabernet edge.
The cellar method reinforces the difference. Separate ferments preserve variety character, the long maceration builds colour and skin tannin, and the mix of oak tanks, concrete and amphorae adds texture without reducing the wines to an obvious oak flavour.
In The Glass
The aroma begins with ripe red and dark fruit from Garnatxa and Syrah, followed by the more herbal, firmer register of Cabernet Sauvignon. In the mouth, the 35-day maceration brings a noticeable pull from the grape skins, while the separate ferments keep the blend's varieties legible instead of turning them into one broad flavour.
Laurel carries that character across fruit from several parcels, so its palate is broad, coloured and rounded by Garnatxa, with Syrah adding depth and Cabernet supplying a firmer line through the middle. Clos Erasmus narrows the same estate story through selection from Escales, Aubagues and Socarrats. In both wines, concrete and amphorae keep the finish focused on fruit, tannin and vessel-shaped texture, while oak tanks add breadth without making new oak the headline.
A Bottle To Understand It
Laurel is the right first bottle because it gathers the estate's range, vineyard and cellar choices into one red. It is roughly 75% Garnatxa, 20% Syrah and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, with fruit from Aubagues, Socarrats, Guinarderes and Les Vaques. The wider parcel mix gives ripe Garnatxa fruit room to lead, while Syrah brings darker tones and Cabernet adds a firmer edge. Separate indigenous-yeast ferments, oak tanks, concrete, amphorae and 35 days of maceration give the wine colour, skin grip and a textured finish. Laurel shows how Clos i Terrasses turns several Priorat parcels into one coherent bottle.
Anecdote
In 1988, Daphne Glorian put her entire life savings into 17 vineyard terraces in a wooded hollow just outside Gratallops. She had been born in Paris, carried Swiss-German ancestry, and spent her early years moving between Switzerland and France before settling in the Priorat village. The purchase was not a vineyard inherited into a family plan. It was a personal commitment to a steep, difficult piece of land. Those terraces became the original Escales parcel, 1.7 hectares divided across 17 levels on a wooded, north-facing slope. The place gave Clos i Terrasses its name and its first physical foothold in Gratallops.
Final Word
Clos i Terrasses makes its wines through a sequence of specific decisions: terraces in Gratallops, biodynamic farming, separate variety ferments, several cellar vessels, and a clear division between selected Clos Erasmus fruit and broader Laurel fruit. Laurel is the more open starting point; Clos Erasmus is the smaller selection from the estate's central parcels.
Sources
- https://www.europeancellars.com/producer/clos-i-terrasses/
- https://www.doqpriorat.org/en/wineries/clos-i-terrasses/
- https://www.turismepriorat.org/en/get-organised/local-producers/clos-i-terrasses
- https://www.europeancellars.com/wine/laurel/
- https://www.bbr.com/products-20228209153-2022-laurel-clos-i-terrasses-priorat-spain
- https://prioratwines.nl/en/p/187/clos-i-terrasses-laurel-2022