Product Overview
Importer's Notes:
"If anyone embodies the promise and spirit of “The New Spain,” it is Álvaro Palacios. His L’Ermita is widely considered—along with Peter Sisseck’s Pingus—to be the most important new Spanish wine of the modern era.
One of nine children born to the owners of Rioja’s respected Palacios Remondo, Álvaro studied enology in Bordeaux, while working under Jean-Pierre Moueix at Ch. Pétrus. He credits his tenure at Pétrus for much of his winemaking philosophy and for showing him 'the importance of great wines.'
Álvaro could have returned to the security of his family’s domaine. But instead, he was drawn to remote and seductive Priorat, 60 miles from Barcelona, which had been one of Spain’s important pre-Phylloxera wine regions. Beginning in the 12th Century, Carthusian monks had painstakingly terraced and cultivated this rugged landscape, and Álvaro believed that their ancient wisdom could be tapped to yield wines with the stature of Pétrus and Grange.
...While originally conceived of as a value wine, Les Terrasses has slowly evolved into Álvaro’s statement of what makes Priorat special. Drawing on 15+ years of study, Terrasses is sourced from many of the region’s steepest and oldest vineyards—many of them north-facing to avoid the intense afternoon sun. Today, Les Terrasses is today perhaps the single finest introduction to Priorat in the marketplace."
Varietal Composition: 72% Garnacha and 28% Carinena
Appellation: Priorat DOQ
94 Points - Wine Advocate
"In 2019, Les Terrasses was exceptionally high in Garnacha, the tendency in this cuvée. Cariñena suffered more from the mildew of 2020, and the final blend of the 2020 Les Terrasses Velles Vinyes was 72% Garnacha and 28% Cariñena, with 14.5% alcohol. It is gentle, honest and with typicity representing the wines from yesteryear but clean and harmonious, with nice balance and no oxidation or volatility, so an updated version of the traditional wines. 78,104 bottles, 2,000 magnums and 124 double magnums produced. It was bottled in May 2022." -LG, 9/30/22
92 Points - Wine Spectator
"A suave red that starts out sleek and racy but expands nicely on the palate, with juicy acidity and supple tannins carrying a lovely range of crushed black cherry and boysenberry, warm fig, violet and mocha notes. Fragrant on the lightly chewy finish, with lingering hints of dried thyme and milled pepper. Garnacha and Samsó. Drink now through 2034. 8,000 cases made." -AN, 2/29/24
