Revisiting A 2001 Priorat

Every Saturday this year, I walk around my store and find the most obscure old bottle I can to pop open for sample. It's a good chance to see how the wine has progressed or declined since I initially bought it. Tonight's pick was a 2001 wine from the Priorat region of Spain known for their Rhone style like red blends. Something this old you know is going to throw some sediment so it's a great idea to stand it up gently to let it settle.
Once I uncork this beauty and get it into a glass, the alcohol is still dominant on the nose, but that soon dissipates over the next 10 minutes to bring out this very floral bouquet of a field of lavender. Upon first sip you get a lot of earthy mushroom, mid palate is that jammy fruit and then the spicy finish follows. Those flavors change drastically over the next 2 hours with each pour. At one point the nose changed into something that resembled a reduction sauce of high grade Balsamic from Modena.
Color was that dark crimson red but when you held the glass at an angle and up to the light you could see that faint brown edge. This was 80% Carinena & 20% Garnacha. Still showing great for 12 years old but it's time is inevitably coming to a close. I would definitely grab a bottle of this for the next dinner party and wow your guests...they'll think you pulled this outta your cellar for the occasion. More importantly you all can see how the flavor profile changes over the course of the meal. At $50-$60 a bottle it's definitely not an everyday wine to be opening. Parker rated it 95 points if that helps make the decision for you. I'm a huge fan of wines from Priorat for their similarities to French Rhone blends. Usually bottles range from good at $20 to spectacular at $75-$100.