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Dear <<First Name>>,
Álvaro Palacios is one of nine children born to the owners of the Rioja estate, Palacios Remondo. He studied and received his qualifications in oenology in Bordeaux, while working under Jean-Pierre Moueix at Pétrus. Palacios could have just joined the ranks at the family’s domaine in Rioja, but instead, in the 1980s, he decided to seek out the potential he believed resided in the largely abandoned, ancient vineyards of Priorat.
Three years after the acquisition of his first vineyard, Finca Dofí in 1990, he located a northeast-facing Garnacha vineyard planted on well-drained schist that had been planted between 1900 and 1940. Palacios named it L’Ermita after a small chapel, or “hermitage”, that sits atop the hill. This wine is widely considered to be one of the most important Spanish wines of the modern era. Our latest consignment of Gratallops was very small and our first of L’Ermita minuscule - both were pre-sold prior to this offer. If you are interested in being added to the waiting list for these wines, please chat to your account manager for further details.
Priorat’s slate-rich soils are what give the wines that minerality and freshness and its steep slopes are definitely one of this region’s most striking characteristics. On offer today, we have a selection of Palacios’ other Priorat wines. The 2017 “Camins del Priorat” is a blend of 40% Garnacha, 30% Samso, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah. It is a rarity to have a Priorat wine that shows balance and panache at the same time. There is no heavy-handed oak to overwhelm the clean red fruit flavours and savoury notes of this elegantly crafted wine. Instead, it speaks very well of its place and in the hands of this very talented winemaker, delivers a subtle richness for which the region is known and at the same time a light, fruity personality. This is a fantastic buy.
The Vi de Vila on the bottle labels means the wine is from one of Priorat’s 12 villages (La Morera de Montsant; Scala Dei; Poboleda; La Vilella Baixa; La Vilella Alta; Torroja del Priorat; Gratallops; Porrera; El Lloar; Solanes del Molar; Bellmunt del Priorat and Masos de Falset). The “Gratallops” is a blend of Garnacha (Grenache), Carinyena (Carignan) and Cabernet Sauvignon and the “Finca Dofí”, from Alvaro’s original single vineyard, is 100% Garnacha. These wines combine power and richness with great structure and finesse.
Today’s offer is centered around a mixed 6-bottle case of two vintages of the “Gratallops” – 2015 and 2016. The estate packages the wine in original wooden cases of 6 bottles which is available as part of the offer (upon request for customers outside of Gauteng).
Be sure to also look out for upcoming offers on Palacios’ two other estates in Bierzo and Rioja.
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