Very nice red wine from Priorat with 94 points from Robert Parker.
Gratallops is a small village on the outskirts of Priorat. Here, Alvaro has purchased 7.2 ha of land distributed over the vineyards La Baixada, Coll del Corral, Obagues, la Capella, Manyetes, Mas d’en Pallares, Coll de Falset, Cinta, Socarrats and Ermites. The vineyards are distributed over a series of steep terraces, which have a north/east exposure. This exposure reduces the amount of sunlight at the same time that the vineyards are exposed to a cool breeze from the sea.
This reduces both the phenolic ripening and the sugar ripening. This would be a huge problem in a northern wine region, but is a huge advantage in Priorat, as it allows the grapes to develop more complex phenolics while holding back the sugar ripening, resulting in a wine with a higher acidity and lower alcohol and thus also a better balance.
All grapes for the wine are of course handpicked. When they arrive at the winery, they are sorted before being destemmed. They are then gently pressed, and the must is placed in oak casks, where fermentation takes place as a spontaneous fermentation, while pigeage is carried out daily. After fermentation, the wine is placed in new French oak barrels for 16 months before being bottled without any filtration.
The fragrance has delicious tones of cherry, blackberry, strawberry, lavender and boysenberry. The taste has a medium+ fullness with notes of cherry, blackcurrant and blackberry, with light notes of cedar in the long aftertaste.
About Alvaro Palacios
Alvaro Palacios’ story begins many hundreds of years ago with monks. Monks who not only had time to refine the products, but were also comfortably free from financial considerations. At least according to Alvaro Palacios himself: “All the best wine regions in Europe were founded by monks. The whole basis is religious. And making the world’s best wine – or Spain’s best wine – requires a religious attitude to wine.
Alvaro Palacios is a trained oenologist in Bordeaux and has, among other things, worked at the fantastic Château Petrus in Pomerol before returning to Spain in the early 1990s to both take over and expand the family’s vineyards. As early as 1995, the critics began showering Alvaro Palacios with plenty of praise, and the star sprinkles have continued ever since – regardless of whether it is the wines of Priorat, Rioja or Bierzo that have been in the media’s spotlight. Everything Alvaro touches turns not into gold, but into God-given, tasty and very personal wines.
Alvaro Palacios grew up among nine siblings at his parents’ winery Palacios Remondo in Rioja. Surprisingly, Alvaro chose to travel rather than continue the family business, even though he had an interest in the diverse world of wine. He went to Bordeaux to train as an oenologist and then got a job at Château Petrus. He subsequently returned to Spain and settled in Priorat in 1989, which was known for its production of bulk wine. Alvaro gained a foothold here, where many other winegrowers had to give up because the vineyards gave a poor yield.
Since 1995, Alvaro Palacios has received recognition and praise for his wine production. It is especially the prestige wine L’Ermita, which is loved and has earned him a place on the list among the best wineries of Spain’s new generation.
