2022 Descendientes de Palacios Moncerbal

From predominantly slate soils, this is much tighter on the palate than the Villa de Corullon with plenty of mineral notes evident. Black-fruit character, restrained and elegant. This has less of a plush, velvet-cushion feel but is destined to age very well. 16.5 points

The single vineyard bottling of Moncerbal from Ricard Perez is made from ancient vines of more than one hundred years of age (as is also the case with his other single vineyard bottlings from Corullón). The 2022 version is stellar, offering up a deep, complex and utterly refined 65 bouquet of sweet dark berries, cassis, tree bark, coffee bean, a complex foundation of minerality, woodsmoke, a glorious spread of discreet botanicals, a touch of anise and a judicious framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, refined and full-bodied, with a gorgeous core of fruit, stunning soil signature and grip, fine-grained tannins and a long, seamlessly balanced and nascently complex finish. Like all of the other 2022s that I tasted from Ricardo Perez, the Moncerbal comes in at a very civilized 13.5 percent octane in this vintage. It will need plenty of cellaring to blossom, but it will be a cellar treasure for many decades to come! 96 points