2019 DESCENDIENTES DE JOSE PALACIOS BIERZO VILLA DE CORULLON

2019 DESCENDIENTES DE JOSE PALACIOS BIERZO VILLA DE CORULLON

2019 DESCENDIENTES DE JOSE PALACIOS BIERZO VILLA DE CORULLON The Palacios brothers are making some of the greatest wine coming out of Spain, Raphael and Remondo are led by elder brother Alvaro Palacios. Alvaro is consistently heralded for creating some of the top wines of the Modern era. One of nine children born to the owners of Rioja’s respected Palacios Remondo, Alvaro studied in Bordeaux and worked under Jean-Pierre Moueix at Chateau Petrus. He was named ‘Man of the Year’ by Decanter Magazine. Constantly striving to make Spain’s greatest wines. Descendientes de J. Palacios was founded by Alvaro Palacios and his nephew Ricardo Perez, also considered one of Spain’s greatest winemakers, back in 1998 with the goal of highlighting the vast potential of Bierzo based wines. The wine we have for you today is the 2019 Descendientes de Jose Palacios Corullon. The wine got a huge 96pts by Parker’s WA as it effortlessly flows across your palate. The wine is almost dreamy and just about impossible to sit, it just keeps inviting you back for more. The wine is a blend of the greatest single vineyards in all of Bierzo. Imagine a wine that is a blend of the great Grand Cru Vineyards of Burgundy, this is that wine and it can be had for $49.99 per bottle. this is the smart-buy from Descendientes de José Palacios, much lower price than his straight single vineyard but offering all the wizardry and pleasure. In 2019, more than half of the Villa de Corullón blend came from Monçerbal and San Martín. In Ricardo Peréz’s opinion, it’s the tension between these contrasting terroirs that forms the wine’s essential character. It’s no wonder the 2019 earned a 96 points. Since the vineyards are all 100+ years old, it’s not surprising that Alvaro and Ricardo found other native grapes mixed in. Bierzo’s signature variety, Mencía of course dominates the blend. But it is complemented by small amounts of other red grapes that were planted a century ago in the same vineyards. They help give Villa de Corullón its fantastic complexity. If you love wine and what a tremendous sensory journey it can, you will love this and it is rare to find such a journey at this price point.

Following the new classification of wines, the 2019 Villa de Corullón is a Vino de Villa (village), produced with grapes from 6.71 hectares divided into 200 small plots they own on slate-rich soils at 500 to 950 meters in altitude. It’s 91% Mencía, 1% Alicante Bouschet and 8% white grapes from old vines (50 to 90 years old) that are organically and biodynamically farmed, and the wine will be certified in the coming years. The partly destemmed grapes fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts for 43 days and matured in barriques and foudres for 10 months. It has a “moderate” 13.5% alcohol, the lower part of the range, as they aim at 13.5% to 14% alcohol in the finished wines. This is a great blending exercise, as the wines are blended mostly before putting it in barrel. There is terrific balance here, great purity, with the essence of slate; here, we move from the fruit of the Pétalos to the herbs. But there is complexity and nuance, violets, rockrose, sap, resin, fern, cinnamon and citrus, all very subtle and harmonious. The flavors have similar purity, and if these wines never have high acidity, there is great freshness, soft citrus, all very subtle and velvety. This is sooo easy to drink it could be dangerous.