First taste: Alvaro Palacios 2023 new releases

The en primeur tasting of the Palacios portfolio is an annual highlight for wine lovers and collectors, bringing together top wines from Priorat, Rioja and Bierzo.

This year’s event was held in the atmospheric underground cellar at the spectacular Descendientes de J Palacios (DJP) winery in Bierzo, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores of Palacios’ 2023 new releases, as well as 10 library vintages

2023 vintage overview

Priorat

Priorat came out on top in the 2023 vintage, just edging past Rioja. The region did not escape Catalonia’s serious drought, yet the wines are impressively fresh, thanks to careful vineyard management, fortunate rainfall around harvest and some irrigation in the hardest-hit areas. L’Ermita (4,800 bottles) was the glorious standout. Nevertheless La Baixada (3,460 bottles), Les Aubaguetes (1,200 bottles) and Finca Dofí (28,000) all came close in quality, the latter a reminder that Alvaro is capable of producing top-quality wines in larger quantities.

Rioja

Rioja is where Palacios’ ability to produce consistently good wine at high volume is most evident, in the production of Finca La Montesa. The 2023 vintage was tough in Rioja, with an exceptional midsummer heat spike. Nevertheless, Quiñón de Valmira (4,190 bottles) showed a gloriously ethereal expression, even at such an early stage.

Bierzo

In Bierzo, a severe heatwave at the end of August was followed by September rain. ‘We had to do a lot of work in the vineyard to manage the rain and the risk of mildew’, reports Palacios’ nephew Ricardo Perez, who runs DJP. While most wines from the 2023 vintage will be best enjoyed in the medium term, the top wine La Faraona (1,200 bottles) is full of promise.

New wines and older vintages

Palacios introduced two new wines to the portfolio from the 2023 vintage: DJP’s ‘Al Chelo’ 2023, of which just 1000 bottles were made; and Alvaro Palacios ‘Valdelareina’ 2023, a village wine from a site at 700m elevation in Rioja. It’s juicily drinkable and enjoyable already, although will develop for some years yet.

He also presented a series of older vintages of DJP’s single-vineyard wines. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how these Bierzo wines had aged.

Finca La Montesa

In London this January, Palacios and his daughter Lola (who has recently joined him in the family business), presented a mini-vertical (2018–2021) of Finca La Montesa, Palacios Remondo’s crianza from Rioja Oriental. In a good year, more than 600,000 bottles of La Montesa are produced. It’s widely available, relatively affordable and the quality is consistently good.

The 105 hectare La Montesa vineyard in Rioja Oriental was first planted in the late 1980s, with 50% Tempranillo (the remainder mostly Mazuelo, Graciano and Garnacha). ‘The first wines were more of a field blend,’ says Alvaro.

When he took over the family bodega in 1989, Palacios shifted the Montesa vineyard’s focus to Garnacha, which he felt was more suited to the region. The first Garnacha-dominant vintage was 2013. Inevitably some older varieties remain scattered through the vineyard, with Requena (Bobal), Moristel, Tinto Velasco, Garnacha and Viura making up about 15%.

The vineyard has been certified organic since 2017. Palacios is gradually shifting from double-cordon to bush vines too, which he says is significantly enhancing quality through the reduced yields. ‘Without a green harvest, a double cordon can produce 26 clusters; a bush vine will only produce nine to 12,’ says Alvaro.

The organic fruit is hand-harvested and hand-sorted; ‘not easy, with 105ha. It takes 65 people, over 12 days,’ he says. A further 30 people man the sorting table, a job he’s finding it increasingly difficult to recruit for.

Despite the focus on Garnacha in Palacios Remondo, ‘I am not Mr Garnacha,’ Palacios stresses. ‘I just love the sites. It’s a coincidence that I was born in a place where Garnacha grows, and went to Priorat where it also flourishes.’ Regardless, he appreciates the passion of younger winemakers such Fernando Mora MW (of Bodegas Frontonio in Aragón) who value Garnacha’s heritage.

An improvement in quality and intensity was evident over the four vintages of La Montesa presented at the tasting in London. The 2020 vintage marked a step change in the character of La Montesa, despite complications of Covid, rain and the intense struggle (‘la gran lucha’) to avoid mildew.

2021 vintage: ‘a gift from the gods’

Conversely, Palacios describes the 2021 vintage as ‘a gift from the gods’ and it would be hard to disagree. La Montesa 2021 will be released in mid June 2024 and it is worth looking out for.

Quiñón de Valmira Rioja 2021 – created from a single low-yielding vineyard of bush vines – is exceptionally fine, an ‘elixir full of life’ says Palacios. Priorat’s L’Ermita (named for the little hilltop hermitage) is still very young, but it shows exceptional promise. And, despite a difficult vintage in Bierzo, La Faraona, crafted from a mere 0.5ha, reveals finesse and originality.

See tasting notes and scores for Palacios’ new 2023 releases and museum wines

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