Syrah del Moret 2017: a parcel worth talking about
31 October 2026 · sommelier.vi.cat
Some back labels say “perfect for special moments” and consider the job done. Syrah del Moret prefers to tell you where the vineyard is, which way it faces and when it was harvested. Rather more useful if you want to know what you are pouring.
Costers del Segre · El Vilosell on the map
El Vilosell lies in Les Garrigues, south-east of Lleida, and provides the local reference for these Tomàs Cusiné wines. Costers del Segre covers other areas too: this close-up shows neither its full boundaries nor exact vineyard locations.
Markers show reference towns, not vineyards. Sources: Tomàs Cusiné · Natural Earth.
Fly over the area in Google Earth ↗
An aerial overview of the landscape. Zoom, rotate and tilt the camera to explore. It does not identify the specific vineyards supplying this wine. Opens in a new tab.
One parcel, one harvest
Syrah del Moret 2017, by Tomàs Cusiné, is a red from DO Costers del Segre. Its label identifies a small production of 1,323 bottles and a dry-farmed vineyard in the Garrigues Altes. The year 2017 is visible on sommelier.vi.cat’s bottle; there is no need to guess it from the condition of the cork.
The label agrees with the winery’s information: the 1.35-hectare Moret alt parcel, planted in 2005, lies on a northwest-facing terrace at 740 metres. Hand harvesting took place on 28 September 2017. The wine fermented with estate yeasts, spent 23 days in vat with the solids and eleven months in five French oak barrels, and was bottled on 28 May 2019. A vintage is the harvest year, not the day a wine moved into its bottle.
El Vilosell: Lleida has hills too
We are in El Vilosell, in Les Garrigues, towards the southern part of Costers del Segre and near the Prades mountains. Imagining all of Lleida as a flat plain baking in August leaves too many vineyards out of the picture. This one belongs to higher ground where aspect and relief modify the conditions of an inland area.
Costers del Segre brings together seven separate zones, rather than a uniform strip of land. Les Garrigues is one of them. The broad climate has a pronounced continental influence and seasonal contrasts, but that does not erase the local effects of elevation, winds or a slope receiving sunlight differently.
At Moret alt, the producer describes calcareous loam with gravel, a poor shallow surface and clay in the subsoil. Loam refers to the mix of particle sizes: a piece of soil information, not a tasting score. Water distribution and the space available to roots help explain dry farming, although they cannot reconstruct every day’s weather in 2017.
The northwest aspect deserves attention. Elevation alone does not explain a parcel; when it receives light and heat matters too. The accompanying article uses this example to explore the Garrigues Altes without turning metres above sea level into a quality ranking.
My tasting: maturity suits it
I see ruby with garnet tones and a little brick at the rim. On the nose I find ripe blue fruit and hints of violet, joined by cocoa, black pepper, gentle smoke, leather and undergrowth. There is development, but the conversation has not become entirely about antique furniture.
The opening feels silky and the tannins polished. It is broad, yet has a fluidity and freshness that avoid heaviness. A persistent balsamic and spicy impression remains on the finish. To me this is a mature, balanced bottle; I would not turn that impression into a universal “peak maturity” date for the whole vintage.
On the wine list at Jiribilla
Syrah del Moret 2017 is on the wine list at Jiribilla, our restaurant in Barcelona, and is sold exclusively at Jiribilla and the winery itself. A tiny production with few places to buy it and plenty to talk about in the glass.
The winery on Instagram: @tomascusine.
Sommelier’s note: taste at around 15–17°C in a generous glass, then decide whether it needs more air. Roast lamb or grilled aubergine are pairing suggestions. With an older bottle, check development and possible sediment; decanting by habit is no substitute for tasting.
Sources consulted on 21 October 2026: sommelier.vi.cat’s label photograph and confirmed tasting impressions; Syrah del Moret producer information; the Regulatory Council on territory and varieties.