Álvaro Palacios
About Álvaro Palacios
The Palacios name is revered in the world of Spanish fine wine. The family's patriarch José Palacios Remondo started his Rioja winery in 1945, and with four of his nine children following in his footsteps, the dynasty lives on. His seventh child, son Álvaro Palacios put the acclaimed region of Priorat on the map with one of Spain's finest, most sought-after wines; the genre-defining L'Ermita.
Decanter Man of the Year (2015), Álvaro Palacios joined the hall of fame alongside winemaking legends; Robert Mondavi, Angelo Gaja & Serge Hochar. Having spent 2 years working at Petrus under Jean Pierre Moueix, before working alongside Rene Barbier, one of the biggest names in Priorat, Álvaro was well equipped when he started his own winery back in 1989.
Álvaro is "the dynamo and tour de force that has propelled Priorat to the forefront of the Spanish wine scene" – Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate. The scarcity and excellence of his flagship L’Ermita mean it comes at a premium, which is why it gives us great pleasure to offer the more affordable, and excitingly the highest-scoring vintage yet of Alvaro Palacios Priorat Finca Dofi 2019.
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Catalunya | 1 | 99 (WA) | $2,675.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (99)The flagship 2018 L'Ermita is already classified as Gran Vinya Classificada, the new category of grand cru vineyards from the Priorat appellation of origin. Like the 2017, the blend here is mostly Garnacha with about 20% Cariñena (the highest for this wine) and 2% of white grapes. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in oak vats with a maceration of 56 days and matured in oak barrels of different sizes for 14 months. The grapes were picked quite late but on the same date as the previous year, the 17th of October, because the vineyard is so regular. The wine is aromatic, intense and elegant, with a lifted nose and a high-pitched note of violet pastille, more refined than the Aubaguetes and Baixada. It is classical and proportioned, with contained and complex aromas and flavors and lots of energy, light in its feel but with inner power and strength. As with most great wines, it should develop nicely and for a long time in bottle but will drink well throughout its life. Grand vin, yes. 2,440 bottles were filled in April 2020. |
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Catalunya | 1 | - | $1,080.00 | |||||
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Catalunya | 1 | - | $3,910.00 | |||||
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Catalunya | 1 | 99 (DC) | $1,070.00 | |||||
Decanter (99)L’Ermita is the second of Alvaro Palacios’ top wines to gain the Gran Vinya Classificada category. The vineyard now measures 4.7ha; it increased when Palacios and René Barbier swapped land. Work has been done to graft red varieties onto white vines. The result of the labours – including the permissions required from the Archbishop of Zaragoza for this holy hermitage – is a delight. Gloriously aromatic nose, introducing a wonderfully complex palate of cherries integrated with savoury notes, a shaft of minerality, wild herbs, and dark fruit conserve. Well-deserving of its reputation as one of Spain's great wines. Gran Vinya Classificada. 4,930 bottles produced. |
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Catalunya | 1 | 99 (DC) | $2,940.00 | |||||
Decanter (99)L’Ermita is the second of Alvaro Palacios’ top wines to gain the Gran Vinya Classificada category. The vineyard now measures 4.7ha; it increased when Palacios and René Barbier swapped land. Work has been done to graft red varieties onto white vines. The result of the labours – including the permissions required from the Archbishop of Zaragoza for this holy hermitage – is a delight. Gloriously aromatic nose, introducing a wonderfully complex palate of cherries integrated with savoury notes, a shaft of minerality, wild herbs, and dark fruit conserve. Well-deserving of its reputation as one of Spain's great wines. Gran Vinya Classificada. 4,930 bottles produced. |
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Catalunya | 1 | 98+ (WA) | $2,965.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (98+)The "gran vinya classificada" single-vineyard 2023 L'Ermita was also bottled and singing. From the 4.7 hectares of the vineyard, they selected four for this vintage, with a blend of 84% Garnacha, 13% Cariñena, 2% Picapoll and 1% white grapes, Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo and PX. It fermented with part of full clusters and indigenous yeasts in oak vats with a longer maceration than in 2022, a total of 42 days, followed by an élevage in French oak oval foudres of 13 months and two more months in concrete. Last year, I found it darker, earthier and a little more rustic than the 2022 wine, but it has bloomed since then. It's much more ethereal and floral, with notes of fresh grape pulp, and it has contained energy, interwoven with spices. This is now somewhere in between the more perfumed and ethereal wines like Dofi and La Baixada and the earthier, darker and more powerful like La Baixada. 4,730 bottles were filled in February 2025. |
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Catalunya | 1 | - | $189.00 | |||||
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Catalunya | 6 | - | $448.00 | |||||
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Rioja | 1 | 97 (WA) | $381.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (97)I tasted the 2022 Quiñón de Valmira that I had already tasted before bottling last year, but this time I tasted it from bottle and next to the 2023. The year seems to have marked a change in the weather and even the aromatic profiles of the wines, but the Garnacha seems to resist. It delivered what it promised but, unfortunately, suffered in the comparison with the superb 2023. It has a pale ruby color with purple tints of youth. It's 85% Garnacha (not 58%, as I wrote last year), with the remaining 15% from other traditional varieties, fermented with a long maceration and some full clusters and matured in oak foudres for 17 months, after which it rested in concrete for another six months. It's floral, expressive, elegant and open, a little shier than the 2023, with ripeness, juicy red fruit and very fine tannins, just slightly dusty. It finishes dry and with some stony austerity that I loved. It comes in at 14% alcohol, with a pH of 3.5 and 5.3 grams of acidity. 5,680 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2024. |
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