Description
Alvaro Palacios is one of the “rock stars” of modern Spanish wine making best known for his work in revitalising the region of Priorat and his ultra-pricey “Grand Cru”, L’Ermita. This though is from his family property in Rioja, where he has worked his magic in reinvigorating the old vineyards and bringing the winemaking up to the state of the art.
La Montesa is the Palacios’ name for the shovel-nosed hill-slope above the town of Alfaro from which their main wines are selected. Three passes yield the Viura blanco, the joven tinto ‘La Vendimia’ and its big sister ‘La Montesa’ which is aged in older French oak. It’s just a little ‘more’ than La Vendimia…more savoury, more mineral, more structured, yet still extremely gentle and open-weave. It’s all things to all people – affordable to quaff, stylish enough for a dinner party.
The wine is aged a year in new to 4 year-old barriques. These are extremely clean, with all wood in Palacios Remondo’s bodega washed in hot water, rinsed in cold, then re-washed with jets of ozone.
The wine has great phenolic maturity and a salty herb-sour edge to intense almost tarry dark Garnacha. The palate has fantastic acid-tannin reach which drags clay spice and floral red berry along and along and along… It’s long, complex, fresh, vital and complete.
94 points, James Suckling “Medium ruby hue, with a bright and racy nose that’s full of pretty berries, redcurrants, fresh strawberries and potpourri. Medium-bodied and naturally juicy on the palate, showing lots of crunch and drinkability. Fresh, transparent and silky.”
93 points, The Wine Advocate “They are going for lower yields and less bottles of the 2020 La Montesa and slowly putting prices up, as they feel the wine is more serious than what the perception of the affordable price makes it. 2020 is a powerful vintage; it’s structured and textured, the oak is very nicely integrated (12 months in barrel, but the powerful wine absorbed it completely), and it’s powerful with 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.55, a little darker than in previous years. The tannins are very fine with a subtle chalky texture.”
VERY LIMITED – LAST OF THIS VINTAGE – Our Price $65.99
