DESCENDIENTES DE JOSE PALACIOS 2021 "PETALOS" BIERZO TINTO

The descendants of Jose Palacios are star Spanish winemaker Alvaro Palacios and his nephew, Ricardo Perez. They were drawn to the Bierzo region for its steep, slate and granite soils and old mixed-planting vineyards. In the northwest of Spain, where the Atlantic influence has more say, the red variety, Mencia, stands tall. You can think of it as having overlapping features of the French classics like Loire Cabernet Franc and Rhône Syrah: mid-weight, vibrant and juicy, with floral, herbal, pepper/incense spice, earthy minerality, and even an occasional olive note. Alvaro and Ricardo own a few exceptional vineyards here, but to make a bottling that more people could enjoy, they supplemented with some rented vineyards. Practicing Organic and Biodynamic Winemaking.

WINE ADVOCATE 93+ POINTS - "2021 is clearly the finest vintage of the trio of 2020, 2021 and 2022, and the bottled 2021 Pétalos delivers what the unbottled samples promised: a wine with lower alcohol than ever (13.5%), lighter, a little narrower but with the juiciness of Mencía that seems to come back after some time in bottle. It has lots of notes of aromatic herbs, with some similar aromas to the La Faraona. It's quite expressive and showy, very pleasant and easy to drink, very gourmand, with a velvety mouthfeel and very fine tannins. 320,000 bottles and 2,567 magnums produced. It was bottled between November 2022 and March 2023. Approachable now, very hedonistic."