Alvaro Palacios

The 2015 Finca Dofi also has a wonderful fragrance but is a very different expression to the Gratallops. Macerated red fruit dominates here bringing a richness and a luscious quality to the wine. The mouthfeel is concentrated and sensual yet the wine is still incredibly fresh with classic Priorat notes of nectarine, pomegranate and grapefruit peel adding a lively vibrancy. The brown slate of Finca Dofi makes it the warmest site of the single vineyard wines, and it really is rather gorgeous.
Catriona Felstead MW, Spanish Buyer

Alvaro Palacios is one of the world’s great winemakers, crowned both 2015 Decanter Man of the Year & Winemaker’s Winemaker by the Institute of Masters of Wine most recently. Alvaro spent 2 years at Petrus before setting up on his own in Priorat in 1989, his wines are now consistently excellent and in the past few years have found a further level of refinement and elegance, they have found yet another gear.

This famous vineyard, an almost perfect natural amphitheatre, has a particular ambiance, something intangible, yet profound, maybe the legacy of its monastic heritage, maybe something to do with the age of its vines and ancient geological terraces….in youth there is sonata purity, which will slowly, deftly, cede to symphonic depth. Alvaro estimates that there is 1% of white grapes included in the blend, more than 80% of which is Garnacha, the balance once again Samso. L’Ermita is made from 60 to 100-year-old vines, farmed at 15 hectolitres per hectare and then aged for 18 to 19 months in new French barrels.

Deep and ancient soils now with the percentage of Garnacha increased to 80%. Dark, linear, extremely fresh and finely structured. Velvety and yet with ethereal charm and real presence.

Alvaro is a staunch defender of Garnacha, for him the archetypical and original Mediterranean variety, only replaced by Cariñena after the Civil War because the latter was seen as higher-yielding. Garnacha he describes as La Reina, the queen of all varieties, generous, soft and benevolent and, of course, completely devoid of caprice.  Clonal selection and deeply rooted old vines underwrite the quality here...mules till the soil as they always have done, and the high mineral content of the sub-soils ( zinc, aluminium and iron) lends definition and purity to the grapes, bolstered by high levels of citric acidity.

Attention to detail is evidenced in the winery too; Alvaro has built an underground barrel cellar which allows maturation in the most natural conditions possible. His philosophy of oak aging has evolved and he now uses larger barrels, his 2000 litre foudres similar in dimension and purpose to those of the other great Grenache citadel; Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Less oak influence translates into more expression of terroir, suitably deferential to the monastic heritage.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)

2012 was a relatively dry vintage, with drought threatening at some points. The blend here is 96% Garnacha and 4% Samso; Garnacha is described as La Reina, the queen of all varieties, generous, soft and benevolent and, of course, completely devoid of caprice. Mules till the soil here as they always have done, and the high mineral content of the sub-soils (zinc, aluminium and iron) lends definition and purity to the grapes. The wine is rich and velvety and yet with ethereal charm and, to use a phrase which Alavro would like, has real presence.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

Álvaro Palacios, whose family owns the prestigious Rioja Bodega, Palacios Remondo, spent two years at Château Pétrus before setting up on his own in Priorat in 1989. From the very beginning, he set out to produce world-class wines by using fruit from extremely low-yielding old vines and by applying ultramodern winemaking techniques. The cream of the crop is the single vineyard wine L'Ermita, which was first produced in 1993. Arguably the most individual red wine in Spain, it is certainly now the most expensive.

This wine, a blend of Garnacha, Carinena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Picapoll, is sourced from six of the nine villages of Gratallops. The 2010 has a dense colour then an attractive nose of forest floor, herbs, dark fruit and garrigue. Garnacha exuberance, albeit dignified, with dense serious grippy tannins and a fresh lively finish.

Alvaro Palacios is a little dismissive of the Romans, who had Taragona as their Catalonian headquarters, because they only planted grapes on the flattest and easiest terrain. The Carthusian monks, on the other hand, knew a thing or two about terroir and the terraced vineyards which they established in the 12^th century around the small town of Gratallops still make up the heart of the Priorat Denominacion. Alvaro is eloquent and passionate about the heritage of his vines; monastic mysticism finds preternatural expression in the extraordinarily intense light here, a reward for a location 10 km away from the Mediterranean and over 4000 hours of sunshine a year.  The vineyards are steep and marked by the distinctive licorelle slate soil, the result of ancient tectonic compression of clay-based igneous rock.
Simon Field MW, Fine Wine Buyer