The
Bodegas Álvaro Palacios winery is located in the municipality of Gratallops in the Spanish DOCa area of
Priorato (Catalonia). It was founded in 1989 by Álvaro Palacios, who descends from an old-established Rioja family that had been growing grapes here since the mid-19th century. After studying oenology in Bordeaux, he had worked at the wineries
Château Pétrus in Bordeaux and
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley and then traded in barrique barrels. Then he decided to produce a world-class wine. As a "young, wild winemaker", Palacios, together with René Barbier from the Clos Mogador winery, shaped the success of the new field from the early 1990s onwards under the guidance of Professor José Luis Pérez, a biologist with a doctorate. The estate's own vineyards cover 35 hectares of vines, which are cultivated according to ecological and
biodynamic principles
Álvaro Palacios became famous with his wine "L'Ermita", named after a five-hectare single vineyard, which comes from average 90-year-old vines with a maximum yield of ten hectolitres per hectare. It is blended from Garnatxa = Garnacha Tinta (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (15%) and Carineña (5%) and is aged for 20 months in new French 500-litre oak barrels. It is also bottled in large format bottles such as
Magnum (1.5 litres), but also
Jeroboam (4.5 litres = 6 x 0.75 l). Together with
Dominio de Pingus, this wine is one of the most expensive red wines in Spain. Outstanding vintages are 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997. The second wine is also named after a single vineyard "Finca Dofí". It is blended from Garnatxa and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as some Carineña, Merlot and Syrah. A third wine made from purchased Garnatxa, Carineña and Cabernet Sauvignon is called "Les Terrasses".
After the death of his father in 2000, Álvaro Palacios took over the family winery
Palacios Remondo in Alfaro in the
Rioja area. Two years earlier, together with Ricardo Perez, he had already founded the winery
Descendientes de José Palacios in the
Bierzo area of Castilla y León. In 2015, he received the title "Man of the Year" from
Decanter Magazine. His brother
Rafael Palacios runs the winery of the same name in the
Valdeorras area of Galicia
