2015 Finca Dofí, Álvaro Palacios, Priorat, Spain

Big, strong, stewy stuff. The tannins are acceptably bitter, although not starkly so, and the rather thick fruit has a little warm scent peeping through, so it works pretty well.

Opaque, bright-rimmed ruby. Powerful, mineral-accented red and dark berry, cherry liqueur and licorice aromas are complicated by suggestions of incense and exotic spices. Deeply concentrated but lively as well, offering palate-staining black raspberry, bitter cherry, fruitcake and floral pastille flavors that show outstanding clarity and mineral thrust. Finishes extremely long and precise, with resonating floral, spice and mineral qualities and youthfully gripping tannins. By all means give this still-young wine some cellar time.

Drink 2024 - 2034

The 2015 Finca Dof is mostly Garnacha with a 4% pinch of Cariena and some white grapes from the vineyard that names it. Although there are some differences, mainly in the fringes and extremes, most of the soils from Priorat are very similar, with decomposed slate called llicorella. Most of Palacios's wines are produced in a very similar way, with natural fermentation of destemmed and crushed grapes in oak vats and levage in oak casks—in this case, larger bocoys and foudres for 16 months. This wine has gained in drinkability since 2010-2011, and this lighter vintage feels even more approachable, with very clean flavors and unnoticeable tannins. It finishes very tasty and with subtle earthiness. 22,742 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2017.

2015 was a high-yielding vintage in Spain in general and in Priorat in particular. The wines here have little color and feel very ethereal. 2016 is clearly more concentrated, and at the same time, the wines show vibrant acidity and more freshness.

Drink 2018 - 2025

This is a very tight and fine-grained red with a compressed mouthfeel. The fruit comes through to a class and elegance. Such length. Ethereal structure. Unique. Drink or hold.