Palacios Remondo
Country: Rioja - Spain
Region: Rioja
Palacios Remondo is the family estate of Alvaro Palacios (who also has outstanding estates in Priorato and Bierzo). Alvaro, along with Telmo Rodriguez & Peter Sisseck (Pingus), is one of the rock stars of modern Spanish winemaking. Like the others, he's no super-charged sugar-&-oak freak, however. It's all about the vineyard - great old-vines, beautifully composed fruit reflecting the smells and flavours of the earth in the finished wine. Palacios Remondo is an estate given to Garnacha and Tempranillo in equal measure, plus a little white from Viura, and little bits of Mazuelo (aka Carinena or Carignan) and Graciano - the traditional blending agents, along with Garnacha, which Riojanos use with Tempranillo.
The Palacios estate is of 240 hectares, still quite high up at about 550m in the foothills of the Yerga mountain range. It's in the east, in the province of Alfaro. Soils are coarse clay/chalk, stony and poor. Rainfall low at 360mm. The project is to reflect soil minerality in the wine, avoid over-cooked fruit character and retain a sense of lively fresh elegance.
A minimum of mechanical handling in the winery is a dramatic counterpoint to the oxidative tendencies of Rioja in the past - as is the care of husbandry in the vineyard.
Passion for Tradition – DOC Rioja is known for native grape varieties Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta and Viura, among other varieties used primarily for blending. The Palacios Remondo Estate and vineyards are located at high elevations in the eastern part of the region. Alvaro's passion for staying true to the tradition of the land inspires him to make wines that are expressive and authentic to the Eastern Rioja region. Alvaro uses Garnacha, which thrives in Rioja Baia, as the dominant grape in his red wine blends. This makes for more full-bodied wines with aromas of Mediterranean herbs, cherries and nectarines, and flavors of mixed berries and blood oranges on the palate.
Committed to Organic Viticulture & Natural Winemaking Practices - Palacios is deeply committed to organic viticulture and natural winemaking practices, such as use of organic fertilizers in the stone-covered, clay soils. All wines are unfiltered and clarified only with egg whites, no exogenous yeasts or commercial compounds are added to the wines and sulfites are kept to minimum levels. Total respect for his vineyard and its surrounding environment results in wines – La Montesa, Propiedad, Plácet Valtomelloso and La Vendimia – that express the true nature of the estate's soils.