2020 Descendientes de Jose Palacios Petalos Bierzo

2020 Descendientes de Jose Palacios Petalos Bierzo

2020 Descendientes de Jose Palacios Petalos Bierzo  The Palacios brothers are making some of the greatest wine coming out of Spain, Raphael and Reimondo 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. Constantly striving to make Spain’s greatest wines, Alvaro has placed considerable focus on Bierzo with their incredibly steep hillside vineyards, distinctive terroirs and most importantly, ancient vineyards of Mencia vines. Palacios hit worldwide fame with L’Ermita in Priorat but had his eye on Bierzo, where the wine in today’s e-mail is from. The idea of making great wine from old-vine Mencia never left Alvaro, and his experience in Priorat- particularly with L’Ermita- convinced him of Bierzo’s enormous potential.

The wine we have for you today is the 2020 DESCENDIENTES DE JOSE PALACIOS BIERZO PETALOS. I tasted it last night and this wine offers spectacular balance and complexity. An intense red with lovely finesse right now. The wine is crafted from 100 % Mencia, the noble red grape of Bierzo, that is reminiscent of a Bordeaux varietal, from old hillside and hilltop vines from Bierzo’s western edge. The age of the vines are 40-90 years of age, aged in French barrique the wines shows lovely density and purity. This is a spectacular example of what is being achieved in Bierzo. Alvaro, along with Raul Perez are making the best wines from this region. With the wine earning a 93+ point rating by Parker’s Wine Advocate and the fact we can offer it to you under twenty with Free Shipping makes this a spectacular buy for a spectacular wine. We unfortunately have only a one shot deal on the wine as it is completely sold out.

From famed winemaker Alvaro Palacios comes this rich, velvet-textured red made from 60-100 year old Mencía vines grown on steep hillsides in Bierzo. Mencia is often light to medium in body, but boasts deep, focused dark fruit. Palacios ups the ante, coaxing remarkable complexity. The fruit is offset by earthy tones. Lean tannins almost go unnoticed, but provide a sturdy backbone. If you’re curious about discovering Mencia, this is a ideal place to begin!

The regional red 2020 Pétalos comes from 90 hectares of vineyards, mainly from Corullón and Villafranca del Bierzo and the districts of Viariz, Hornija, Valtuille de Abajo and Otero. It mixes expositions, altitudes and soils and wants to paint a picture of Bierzo in the warm 2020 vintage. They reckon it’s 92% Mencía with 5% other red grapes (Alicante Bouschet, Gran Negro, Pan y Carne and Negreda) and 3% whites (Valenciana, Jerez and Godello) with an average yield of 26 hectoliters per hectare. The grapes were picked from August 28th to September 24th and fermented partly destemmed in stainless steel and oak vats with indigenous yeasts for 43 days with a slow malolactic fermentation that lasted two months. The wine matured in barrel for around eight months (malolactic was fast, and the wines were put in barrel early) and was bottled unclarified, unfiltered and non-stabilized with cold. It has good ripeness with 14% alcohol (their upper limit) and moderate acidity at 4.6 grams (of tartaric acid). It’s a little more fruit-driven, a vintage of sun, jovial and juicy, approachable and round with very fine, slightly powdery tannins. The fruit is darker than in the 2019. This is still young, and, as it happens with even the most approachable wines from the region, it should be even better in a couple of years. I tasted it again in mid-December, and the wine is showing better and better; time in bottle has done it some good, and the wine has settled and is getting more balanced. I don’t feel the sun now; it’s harmonious and more serious, juicy and tasty. A little better than anticipated. 93pts Parker’s WA