2019 Descendientes de José Palacios Corullón

This has the level of a real Grandcru from Burgundy with a comparable storage potential but only costs a fraction of the hundreds of euros Top Bourgognes. This top wine is mainly made from Mencia grapes from its own vineyards in the village of Corullón up to 850 meters above sea level. produced and is aged on average for 17 months in oak. This Corullan has a fragrance intensity of ripe fruit, slightly sweet spices, fleshy and a complex but fresh bouquet of flowers and berries. In the taste we immediately have the crunchy acids perfectly supported by a mouth-filling diaphragm with a minerally dry fruity finish. The tannins are very nicely present and this in optimal condition, juicy and yet with bite. Nicely wrapped with balanced barrel maturation. 96/100 Parker.

This area belongs geo-politically to Castilla y León, but physically it is the gateway to Galicia. The Castilian plateau here becomes a mountainous landscape that changes into a green oasis and a more temperate climate: less extreme than in Castilla and less rain than in Galicia. Bierzo is the kingdom of the Mencía grape, a noble unknown to many, but one of Spain's most underrated grapes with impressive potential. The vineyards are located at an altitude between 450 and 1,100 meters, with a considerable difference in height, which means that there are many microclimates and terroirs. The main towns are Ponferrada and Villafrance del Bierzo. The soils are sandy or clay-rocky in the valley along the river Sil, or consist of limestone and especially shale in the mountains.

The great impulse to this wine region was mainly given by this project. One of the first biodynamic domains in Spain. It was Alvaro Palacios who recognized the potential of this area to make truly great terroir wines. After his odyssey in Priorat, he started this wonderful story with his young nephews Ricardo. They selected the most difficult vineyards in the whole area: the highest, most difficult to access and with the lowest yields (because vieilles vignes): these were precisely those vineyards that the villagers were least interested in because they yielded the least.