Triumphs in Priorat and Bierzo

...and a high-class foray into Rioja

There's no denying Alvaro Palacios has had a remarkable career. After studying oenology in Bordeaux and a stint working at Pétrus, he scoured Spain in search of old and forgotten vineyards, finally settling in the hills of Priorat working fabulous old vine Garnacha. Then with his nephew Ricardo he went to Bierzo in north-west Spain and rescued the local Mencia grape from obscurity. Not content with having put two regions firmly back on the Spanish fine wine map, he’s also garlanded with Decanter Man of the Year 2015 and 2016 Winemakers' Winemaker of the Year as voted by the Institute of Masters of Wine. We now have huge pleasure in offering the UK release of his latest venture: Quiñon de Valmira, a pure Garnacha Rioja from high slopes in that variety’s traditional heartland of Rioja Baja.

2015 brought a hot, dry summer to Priorat, the sort of conditions in which the hardy old Garnacha vines flourish; harvest was bountiful and Alvaro describes 2015 as a "luminous year". In Bierzo, Ricardo harvested fast to avoid rain; vintage conditions have granted well-balanced wines, expressive examples of the Mencia grape.

The Priorat wines are both smooth and powerful, driven by dark fruit and an underlying mineral character often characterized as wet granite. The Bierzo wines tend to be more earthy and savoury, often with quite exotic spicing, while the Quiñon de Valmira is more reminiscent of a very fine Burgundy than most normal Rioja. While the top wines from these estates are beyond many budgets, there are some amazing buys to be found in the middle range. These are wines that will still be drunk and talked about after their original makers have moved on. /NT

Offered subject to confirmation for shipment autumn 2017