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Alvaro Palacios
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Alvaro Palacios
Alvaro Palacios


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Alvaro Palacios Information Sheet
Country of Origin: Spain
Location: Gratallops
People: Alvaro Palacios, Owner & Winemaker
Supplier: http://www.rarewineco.com


Alvaro Palacios is one of the stalwarts of the new wave of Spanish winemakers. Being an ambitious member of a large family with a Rioja estate, Palacios Remondo, Alvaro struck out beyond his home region. He studied in Bordeaux and worked at Petrus before settling in Priorat to found one of its greatest wineries, which bears his name. His ambition was to produce a cross between Australia's famed Grange and Bordeaux's Petrus.

His most exalted Priorat, L'Ermita, is a vineyard designated wine made from 60-100 year old Garnacha vines. It has certainly ascended to the rarified world of Petrus-like distribution and adulation where allocations are quoted in bottles and are delivered to customers like Faberge eggs. Finca Dofi, also a vineyard designation, is a little less scarce and includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Carinena in addition to the indigenous old vine Garnacha. Those of us living on paychecks as opposed to interest on capital need not despair as Alvaro also makes a Priorat called Les Terrasses that is famous for its extraordinary quality at a very affordable price. This wine is typically a blend of Garnacha, Carinena, and Cabernet Sauvignon and is sourced from the best fruit Alvaro can find, often purchased at 2-3 times the going rate.

Media Links
Wine Spectator: Featured Winemaker, Alvaro Palacios
Decanter.com: Alvaro Palacios, Spanish Wanderer
Items
Alvaro Palacios 2012 'Camins del Priorat' Priorat DOCa Net Price Reviews —
Alvaro Palacios 2010 'L'Ermita,' Priorat Net Price — —
Alvaro Palacios 2011 'Les Terrasses Velles Vinyes' Priorat DOCa Net Price Reviews —
Alvaro Palacios 2012 'Les Terrasses Velles Vinyes' Priorat DOCa Net Price — —
Alvaro Palacios 2011 Finca Dofi, Priorat DOCa Net Price Reviews —
Reviews
Alvaro Palacios 2011 'Les Terrasses Velles Vinyes' Priorat DOCa
Rating: 89

The 2011 Terrases is more or less 50/50 Carinena and Garnacha and is the wildest wine in the portfolio, it is his other regional wine, a wine with a slightly more elegant-rustic profile (think of a British farmer dressed in corduroy trousers) with notes of tree bark, damsons and flinty aromas. It has an austere palate with pungent flavors, ultra-fine tannins, very supple with good acidity. Drink 2014-2018.

- The Wine Advocate (2/28/2014)

Alvaro Palacios 2011 'Les Terrasses Velles Vinyes' Priorat DOCa
Rating: 92

Glass-staining ruby. Exotically perfumed aromas of dark fruit compote, smoky Indian spices and licorice, with a building floral quality. Coats the palate with juicy blackberry and mulberry flavors enlivened by juicy acidity. Quite rich but manages to remain energetic, finishing with sappy dark berry flavors and excellent persistence.

- International Wine Cellar (10/1/2013)

Alvaro Palacios 2011 'Les Terrasses Velles Vinyes' Priorat DOCa
Rating: 93

A light texture carries racy, intense flavors in this expressive red, with bright cherry, licorice, mineral, garrigue and spice notes mingling over light tannins and buoyed by lively acidity. Balanced, focused and elegant, featuring a lingering finish. Drink now through 2021.

- The Wine Spectator (6/19/2013)

Alvaro Palacios 2011 Finca Dofi, Priorat DOCa
Rating: 95

The 2011 Finca Dofi represents a huge jump in quality for this wine. They have been re-grafting all the Cabernet Sauvignon to Garnacha (they’ve been doing that for six years) and Dofi has mostly fruit from north-facing plots which give it a special freshness, pure red fruit and blood orange, peach, subtle herbs and aniseed with an impressive elegance and balance, round and velvety tannins, without the chunkiness that Cabernet and Syrah give in Priorat, very long and persistent in the finish. I tasted it next to the 2010 Finca Dofi and you could feel the chunkiness of the Cabernet tannins in the wine, while 2011 had a rounder, softer and silkier texture. This is a superb Dofi, much more elegant and subtle than any vintage I remember, a quantum leap from past vintages. Bravo! It was only bottled in June and you can still feel a whiff of oak but it’s very drinkable and should also age for a few years. Drink 2014-2021.

- The Wine Advocate (2/28/2014)

Alvaro Palacios 2011 Finca Dofi, Priorat DOCa
Rating: 93

Opaque ruby. Ripe red berries and cherry-cola on the highly perfumed mineral, floral nose. Broad and deep but lively, offering sweet raspberry, lavender pastille and mineral flavors lifted by peppery spices. Tightly focused on the silky finish, which manages to be vibrant and rich at the same time. Tannins come up with air but this is all about fruit and flowers right now. This wine is virtually all Garnacha.

- International Wine Cellar (10/1/2013)

Alvaro Palacios 2012 'Camins del Priorat' Priorat DOCa
Rating: 88

So the wines are naturally concentrated but with good acidity, a lot fresher than you’d expect from such a warm, dry year. I did taste one wine from that vintage, the 2012 Camins del Priorat a regional wine from younger vines, from a dry (one-third the average rain, the driest for many years), warm vintage, the only wine that contains Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot complementing the 40% Garnacha and 25% Carinena. It aged for one year in barrels and is an accessible wine, with some leafy raspberry notes and aromas of ripe plums, cherries, licorice, graphite and faint cinnamon. It has finesse and some complexity. The palate is medium-bodied, with opulent tannins, modern and very well-crafted, ending with some earthy notes. An approachable wine for new drinkers, great for restaurants. Drink now-2017.

- The Wine Advocate (2/28/2014)