Alvaro Palacios Les Terrasses Vinyes Velles 2017

Enveloping black-cherry and blueberry aromas, but also notes of licorice and smoke. A bold and powerful Priorat with discreet oak and plenty of freshness. The tannins are supple and beautifully integrated, the finish generous and polished.

This red is round and tender, yet has good depth. Cherry and berry flavors mingle with graphite, wild herb and blood orange notes. The structure is unobtrusive, but the wine shows focus and definition. Drink now through 2027.

Seductive and complex nose, typical Mediterranean expression of warm berry fruit, cherries, blackcurrants and plums. Explosion of fruit on palate with roses, chocolate and vanilla, silky tannins and racy acidity. (3/2017)

Palacios blends Les Terrasses from garnacha and cariñena grown in different areas of Priorat, presenting an overarching vision of the region’s wines. And that vision in 2015 is rich in herbal notes, tension and freshness, speaking clearly of the new style of Priorat reds. However, behind these bright, crystalline flavors, there are notes of spice and riper fruit flavors that give the wine a delicious depth.

The 2014 Les Terrasses Velles Vinyes is a blend of 60% Garnacha and 40% Cariñena from different villages. The 2014 vintage was a high yielding, warm vintage and the grapes from the nine villages of Priorat fermented in a combination of oak and cement vats with natural yeasts and matured in oak barrels for ten months. This is always a characterful wine, with the unmistakable signature of the Cariñena with the rusticity of the dusty roads of Priorat. The palate is really lively, with some dusty tannins and high acidity. It's long and it finishes with a mineral sensation. Despite my references to some rusticity, this is very elegant, much more elegant and refined than the wines from the 1990s and 2000s. Elegant rusticity, that is! There are 103,800 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2015.

Brilliant ruby. A complex bouquet evokes raspberry and blackberry preserves, Indian spices, potpourri and smoky minerals. Deep, seamless and powerful, with lively fresh black raspberry, boysenberry and spicecake flavors, and a candied violet note that builds with air. The gently tannic finish shows excellent length and clarity.