Practicing Organic and Biodynamic Winemaking
WINE ADVOCATE 93+ POINTS - "The 2023 Pétalos has around 20% grapes from Corullón and the rest bought from around 100 families across Bierzo, approximately 91% Mencía, 8% whites and 1% other reds that fermented in open-top oak and stainless steel vats with indigenous yeast. Malolactic fermentation took a couple of months in oak and stainless steel, and the wine matured in barriques and bocoyes for 10 months. It comes in at 13% alcohol with a pH of 3.74. It has a serious nose that combines berry fruit with herbs and a licorice twist, and it is a little tighter and more herbal, denoting more sensation of freshness in the wine even if the year was also warmish. But the peaks of heat did not reach the highs they did in 2022. It makes you think of the Bierzo wines from yesteryear, with the rain during the harvest. It's elegant but there's weight. Despite the price level, this is a wine that aged beautifully in bottle, something you don't expect in an entry-level wine. Final production figures were as expected, 297,867 bottles. The wine was bottled between January and April 2025. This keeps its position as one of the best values in Spain."
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.
WINE ADVOCATE 93+ POINTS - "The 2023 Pétalos has around 20% grapes from Corullón and the rest bought from around 100 families across Bierzo, approximately 91% Mencía, 8% whites and 1% other reds that fermented in open-top oak and stainless steel vats with indigenous yeast. Malolactic fermentation took a couple of months in oak and stainless steel, and the wine matured in barriques and bocoyes for 10 months. It comes in at 13% alcohol with a pH of 3.74. It has a serious nose that combines berry fruit with herbs and a licorice twist, and it is a little tighter and more herbal, denoting more sensation of freshness in the wine even if the year was also warmish. But the peaks of heat did not reach the highs they did in 2022. It makes you think of the Bierzo wines from yesteryear, with the rain during the harvest. It's elegant but there's weight. Despite the price level, this is a wine that aged beautifully in bottle, something you don't expect in an entry-level wine. Final production figures were as expected, 297,867 bottles. The wine was bottled between January and April 2025. This keeps its position as one of the best values in Spain."
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.
