Eminent top wine from Alvaro Palacios with top ratings from Parker and Suckling.
Robert Parker 95-97
James Suckling 98
La Baixada is an eminently organic and biodynamic Garnacha red wine made by Alvaro Palacios in the D.O.Q. Priory. La Baixada is a 1.3 hectare plot located in the town of Gratallops in Priorat. The grounds are planted with vines with an average age of 20 years, growing on terraces 300 meters above sea level.
The slopes are very steep and the soil is composed of licorella, the shale soil typical of the fantastic area. The vines are cultivated using organic farming with biodynamic treatments and follow the cycles of the moon in all processes.
La Baixada is Alvaro Palacios’ new wine made in D.O.Q. Priory. It is a very limited production, but with all the energy, subtlety and purity that a classic Priorat can display when it is really, really good.
Once the La Baixada grapes have been harvested by hand, they are de-stemmed and lightly crushed. They are then fermented on their own wild yeast in oak barrels with 55 days of maceration. Finally, the wine is aged for 20 months in French oak barrels.
La Baixada 2021 is a super delicious, soft Garnacha red wine with delicious aromas of red and black fruits such as blackberries, currants and cherries, notes of violets and subtly spicy notes on the nose. On the tongue, the wine is compact, very energetic and completely clean. The wine stands out with an absolutely wonderful nerve, acidity and silky smooth and fine tannins. A top-class wine with great storage potential.
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.
