Alvaro Palacios Camins Del Priorat

• A Spanish wine with intense aromas of liquorice, currants, blackberries and violet
• On the palate it offers gorgeous ripe blueberry, fig and blackcurrant fruit, accompanied by notes of roasted coffee beans and dark chocolate

Alvaro Palacios is one of a group of winemakers credited with putting Priorat back on the viticultural map. After studying winemaking in Bordeaux and a subsequent stint working at Chateau Petrus, Alvaro decided not to return to his family winery in Rioja. Instead, he followed a group of intrepid winemakers, including Rene Barbier, to the rugged and forgotten region of Priorat.

This was the 1980s. Nowadays, Alvaro makes some of the most highly regarded wines in the region, whether from his Finca Dofi vineyard or the region's most famous wine, L'Ermita, the first wine to use the Gran Vinya Classificada (Grand Cru equivalent) qualification.

Alvaro's work on redefining the Priorat classification has been very important in helping to elevate individual villages and vineyards in this region. The early use of international varieties like cabernet sauvignon is eschewed in favour of local varieties. The focus now is very much on Garnacha and Carinena, both much better suited to expressing the characteristics of this rugged terroir and its Licorella soils. Alvaro's Priorat wines are elegant, always profoundly layered, mineral, and expressive.