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RATINGS: 95pts Robert Parker; 94pts James Suckling
During the late 1980's, Alvaro Palacios travelled his native Spain selling French barriques to winemakers. But his journeys had a second purpose: to find the best place to achieve his goal of making Spain's greatest wine. He ultimately decided, in 1990, 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 wanted incredibly steep hillside vineyards, distinctive terroirs and, most importantly, ancient vineyards of Mencia a unique red grape believed brought by French pilgrims during the Middle Ages. In Pursuit of the Dream The idea of making great wine from old vine Mencia never left Alvaro, and his experience in Priorat particularly with L'Ermita convinced him of Bierzo's enormous potential. Meanwhile, his nephew Ricardo Perez had finished enological studies in Bordeaux and was travelling across France absorbing everything he could about great wines. He worked the harvest at Chateau Margaux, and did internships at other Bordelais firms like Moueix (Petrus, Trotanoy, etc.). He also visited Alvaro frequently and came to share a belief in Bierzo's potential. In 1998, the two decided on a joint venture and set out in search of the region's finest old vineyards. Assembling the Pieces 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 Corullon. Old vineyards lined the precipitous hillsides there, and the local soils were extremely poor composed mostly of schist but with incredible diversity. The minute variations in soils and exposures across this zone immediately reminded the two of Burgundy's Cote d'Or, or Piedmont's Langhe hills. In Corullon, Alvaro and Ricardo believe they have found a unique combination of soils, old vines, and a distinctive variety that will yield their own grands crus. Beginning with 2001, the estate began to make their case with individual vineyard bottlings. The winery is dedicated to Alvaro's father, and Ricardo's grandfather, who passed away in early 2000. The wines are a worthy tribute to the man who inspired them.
TASTING NOTES: Wine Advocate 95 points Ricardo Perez Palacios told me his favorite overall vintages for Bierzo are 2001, 2012 and possibly 2015, because he sees them as very complete years, even if 2015 didn't have as perfect conditions as 2001 and 2012; the 2015 Corullon is a perfect example of that, a really pretty wine, open, where I see the similarities with 2012. They use many of the vineyards year after year, all of them around the village of Corullon, all planted with a field blend of varieties, and they have been increasing the percentage of white grapes from those vines that they include in the cuvee. In 2015, it can be almost 9%, mostly Palomino, and they feel it polishes that slight bitterness in the finish of the Mencia, reminiscent of green almonds. Of course, there are also other red grapes, like Alicante Bouschet, Gran Negro, Pan y Carne and Negreda, that might contribute to some 2% of the volume. 19,572 bottles, 720 half bottles, 450 magnums, 45 double magnums and 30 Jeroboams were filled between May 11th and 17th of 2017..August/2017
James Suckling 94 points Love the focus and balance to this wine. Clove, nutmeg and mineral character with blue fruits, too. Medium to full body and ultra fine grained tannins. Lovely length. Drink now.Biodynamically grown grapes..September/2017
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