Descendientes de Jose Palacios

VISIT IMPORTER'S WEBSITE
Country of Origin: Spain
Location: Villafranca del Bierzo, Leon
People: Alvaro Palacios & Ricardo Perez, Owners & Winemakers
Viticulture: Practicing Biodynamic

Items

Descendientes de Jose Palacios 2023 'Corullon' Vino de Villa, Bierzo DO Login WA 97 AG 93-94 In Stock
Descendientes de Jose Palacios 2023 'Petalos' Mencia, Bierzo DO Login — In Stock

Álvaro Palacios was already a celebrated producer of Priorat when he teamed up with his nephew, Ricardo Perez, a Bordeaux trained enologist, to fulfill his early passion for making great old vine wine from the Mencia grape. In the estate vineyards around the town of Corullón, Alvaro and Ricardo believe they have found a unique combination of soils, old vines, and a distinctive variety that will yield their own grands crus. Beginning with 2001, the estate began to make their case with individual vineyard bottlings with an emphasis on biodynamic viticulture. The winery is dedicated to Alvaro's father, and Ricardo's grandfather, who passed away in early 2000.

Seven wines are made. The first, Pétalos del Bierzo, is assembled from old hillside and hilltop vines from across Bierzo's western edge. The wine is vinified for immediate appeal, but it retains the estate's signature finesse and restraint. Corullón is an assemblage from old-vine parcels in and around this town. Its combination of generosity and precision makes a case not only for Corullón's special status, but also the superiority of Alvaro's and Ricardo's winemaking. Robert Parker, Jr. said Corullón "may be the finest wine of the appellation." There are, in addition, five extraordinary single vineyard wines made: San Martin, Fontelas, Moncerbal, Las Lamas and La Faraona. Each is a distinctive expression of a remarkable and compelling terroir.

Wine Advocate 6/2020
"I’ve said this a number of times before, but sometimes you have to repeat yourself: Descendientes de J. Palacios is the most coherent, moving, thrilling and consistent wine project in Spain. Period."

Descendientes de J. Palacios 2013 Pétalos Voted #53 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2015
"Alvaro Palacios helped build the reputation of one Spanish mountain wine region, Priorat, to international acclaim--and four-figure bottle prices. Then in 1998, he struck out with his nephew Ricardo Perez for an even lesser-known land in the sky: Bierzo, where old vines of the indigenous Mencia grape thrive in harsh schist soils. The Pétalos is sourced from multiple hillside vineyards and serves as an affordable introduction to the region and style."

Wine Advocate 1/2015
"Descendientes de J. Palacios keep going from strength to strength with a superb collection of 2012s, one of the best vintages in recent history in El Bierzo. Even though all their reds are Mencía-based, the old vineyards contain a mixture of grapes -even some whites- that are used in the wines, as they add complexity and freshness. For Ricardo Pérez Palacios, 2012 and 2001 are his best vintages here, and I think 2012 is probably the best. All the wines are exceptional, but if I had to choose two it would be Corullón and Las Lamas (and Pétalos, of course!), both in their finest vintages. There are no wines in Bierzo like this ones... What I see here is really coherent, a life project with a clear philosophy, not just a collection of (great) wines; Ricardo lives on a biodynamic farm with the animals, they provide agriculture and biodynamic courses, make cheese (he hopes to get his own goats soon), bake bread, grow vegetables, they already produce and sell fruit juices... He's trying to close the circle and use everything from the farm, with some more products slowly coming to the shelves, they are going to start producing 'orujo' (the local name for grappa)... single vineyard 'orujo' even! Stay tuned!"

Wine Advocate 8/2013
"As for the wines, they are different from the rest of the Bierzo; they have to be, because their very old vineyards are located in the village of Corullon, high up in the mountains, some of them at 1,200 meters altitude on slate slopes where they yield minuscule quantities of grapes. They also carry out very detailed work, both in the vineyards and in the winery, and the result shows."

Media Links
Wine Advocate: The Álvaro Palacios 2020 Portfolio
Wine Spectator: Featured Winemaker, Alvaro Palacios
Decanter.com: Alvaro Palacios, Spanish Wanderer
The Drinks Business: Palacios to Release 'Game Changing' Rioja
Yumivino: Q&A with Ricardo Perez Palacios

Reviews

  • Desc. de Palacios 2023 'Corullon' Vino de Villa, Bierzo DO
    The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 97 (7/10/2025)
    The village 2023 Corullón was produced with a selection of 90 plots from the 200+ that they own in the village. It drove me crazy when I tasted it unbottled last year, and it has delivered what it promised. It had an élevage of 9.7 months in barrels, bocoyes and foudres and finished at 13% alcohol with a pH of 3.74. It has a stony, quite Moncerbal-ish (according to Ricardo), serious, austere and a little reductive character, with a flinty and elegant reduction that I love. The vines have been worked organically and biodynamically since they started in 1999, and they achieved organic certification in 2018. The vines are very balanced, and they have learned to manage the warm years much better than in the past (in 2017, they were a lot less ready than today). 2023 was still a warmish year (or at least it's not a textbook Atlantic year), even if the wines, like this Corullón, have a profile that makes you think of a classical year in Bierzo from 20 years ago. It makes me think of the 2001 that I've always liked very much, among my favorite years ever, and also 2021. This is super elegant and fine-boned, one of the finest vintages to date. It's not very fruit-driven and is a little spicy, with weight but ethereal... 34,933 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2025.
  • Desc. de Palacios 2023 'Corullon' Vino de Villa, Bierzo DO
    Vinous
    Rating: 93-94 (9/1/2025)
    The 2023 Corullón is a Mencia from Bierzo sourced primarily from Moncerbal and San Martín. It opens with balsamic and forest herb notes, followed by dark-leaning fruit aromas of blackberry and plum underscored by pomegranate. This is medium-bodied, straightforward and savory, with fine-grained tannins. The finish is flavorful and slightly grippy, leaving an airy impression. The 2023 is well made.