92 Point, $17 Petalos Returns!
Posted on: 12/27/18 7:47 PM
A stunner awarded 92 points for a measly $17, from one of the hottest producers in Spain. I mean, c’mon folks! Perfect for the incoming cold weather, this is an instant “back up the truck” hair on fire, case buy!!!!
2016 Descendientes De J. Palacios Bierzo Petalos
“This savory red offers notes of expresso, black olive and graphite framing a core of black cherry and licorice. Fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity keeps this balanced. Harmonious and graceful. Drink now through 2024.” 92 Points, Wine Spectator
More about the Wine
Here’s the story. During the late 1980’s, a guy named Alvaro Palacios travelled his native Spain selling French barriques to winemakers. But his journeys had a secretive second purpose: to find the best place to achieve his goal of making Spain’s greatest wine.
Mr. Palacios wisely decided on Priorat, where he would achieve worldwide fame with “L’Ermita” and “Finca Dofi.” But there had been a close contender: Bierzo. It had all the ingredients that Alvaro yearned for: incredibly steep hillside vineyards; distinctive terroirs; and, most importantly, ancient vineyards of Mencía—a unique red grape believed brought by French pilgrims during the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, his nephew Ricardo Perez had finished enological studies in Bordeaux and was travelling across France—absorbing everything he could about great wines. Flash forward to 2001, and Alvaro and Ricardo found promising sites in a number of villages but shortly came to believe that the greatest potential lay in a little town on Bierzo’s western border named Corullón. Old vineyards lined the precipitous hillsides there, and the local soils were extremely poor—composed mostly of schist—but with remarkable diversity. The variations in soils and exposures across this zone immediately reminded the two of Burgundy’s Côte d’Or, or Piedmont’s Langhe hills. They set to work.
One of Spain’s perennial best values, Pétalos del Bierzo is assembled from old hillside and hilltop vines from across Bierzo’s western edge. The 2016 boasts impressive focus and persistence and boasts vivid notes of raspberry, flowers with a savory mineral core. It is absolutely delicious and an old fashioned “no brainer” for Spanish enthusiasts.
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