Italian Wine Dinner & La Montesa
June 11, 2008

During the 1990's, Alvaro Palacios became the most acclaimed Spanish winemaker of his generation, leading winemaking revolutions in regions on opposite sides of Spain- Priorat and Bierzo.  As a youth he could have opted to work for his family's prestigious estate winery in Rioja, however Alvaro decided to study enology in Bordeaux, and trained under Jean Pierre Moueix at fabled Chateau Petrus!  When he returned to Spain, Alvaro teamed with Rene Barbier and a few others, to pioneer and revitalize the Priorat region south of Barcelona.  Alvaro's benchmark Priorat, L' Ermita, has become one of the most collectible and expensive wines from any region in the world (currently the 2005 fetches up to $675).

Upon his father's death in 2000, Alvaro returned to his roots in Spain's wine heartland, Rioja. There, he assumed responsibility and took control of his family's old Palacios Remondo estate.  Quickly and completely, with his perfectionist and passionate approach, Palacios re-energized and transformed this historic property with updated viticulture practices and refined winemaking.

Back in the 1960's, his father had planted some 250 acres of vines on chalky, southfacing hillsides along the Yerga mountains in the Rioja Baja D.O.  He named the vineyards La Montesa.  Alvaro fine tuned these organically farmed vineyards to reduce grape yields, and now, they are producing amazing Tempranillo and Garnacha fruit. 

La Montesa is a skillfully crafted red wine, and is conceived as the estate's flagship blend.  It reflects the best of the the estate's past and future.  Naturally, the wine is bottled unfiltered and unfined.

"The 2004 La Montesa is a blend of 45% Garnacha, 40% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo (Carignan), and 5% Graciano. It was aged for 12 months in a mix of new and used French and American oak and bottled unfiltered. Medium crimson-colored, it offers an expressive bouquet of cedar, pencil lead, black raspberry, and blackberry. Medium to full-bodied, it reveals a supple texture, plenty of spicy dark fruits, good complexity, and an elegant personality. It has a lengthy finish for its modest price. Drink this outstanding value now and over the next 8 years." - 90 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate