Alvaro Palacios

A firm favourite from the Palacios stable, Finca Dofi has had a particularly successful outing in 2014. Generous from the outset, yet in no way lacking staying power, the blend of Garnacha ( 94%) and Samso ( 6%) reflects Alvaro’s great love of old Garnacha, in particular its floral aromatics, its intimations of concentration and power and the evocations of the distinctive schistous ( known locally as ‘licorella’) soils in the weave of its texture. A thoroughbred.

A tremendous nose of rich spices soars alongside a brilliant red fruit perfume; star anise, clove and sweet earthy notes all combine here. Wonderful red fruit spills on to the palate, with acidity equal to the task of balancing its depth. The best is saved until last though: a delicious finish, wrapped in a cape of mouth-coating, fine and very long tannins.
Fine Wine Team

There is fantastic intensity on the nose of this wine of just picked, pure black cherry. Hints of clove and Turkish Delight develop on the palate, with strawberry and spices again. This is bright and fresh, with a refined and poised, crisp finish.
Fine Wine Team

L’Ermita is a monolith, and one of the most dense, brooding, colossal wines I have tasted in my career. There are enormous layers of dark fruit on the nose, lined with edges of cherry and combined with reams of violet, crushed rock and delicate spices. It has simply enormous weight on the palate, but what really impresses is the fantastically balanced freshness and acidity. This is a beast, but it is as intellectual as it is muscular. 
Fine Wine Team

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.