Descendientes de Jose Palacios

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Country of Origin: Spain
Location: Corullon
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 AG 92 WA 93+ 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.

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.
  • Desc. de Palacios 2023 'Petalos' Mencia, Bierzo DO
    Vinous
    Rating: 92 (9/1/2025)
    The 2023 Pétalos is a Mencia from Bierzo that blends fruit from both the lowlands and the slopes of Corullón in equal parts. Focused and precise, it offers hints of violet, wild herbs and fresh plum with touches of cherry and pomegranate. This is medium-bodied, juicy and supple, with delicate freshness and grippy tannins. Compared to the 2022, it feels more resolved and less compact, yet retains its talc-like texture and a faint pink note.
  • Desc. de Palacios 2023 'Petalos' Mencia, Bierzo DO
    The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 93+ (7/10/2025)
    The 2023 Pétalos has around 20% grapes from Corullón and the rest bought from around 100 families across Bierzo, approximately 91% Mencía, 8% whites and 1% other reds that fermented in open-top oak and stainless steel vats with indigenous yeast. Malolactic fermentation took a couple of months in oak and stainless steel, and the wine matured in barriques and bocoyes for 10 months. It comes in at 13% alcohol with a pH of 3.74. It has a serious nose that combines berry fruit with herbs and a licorice twist, and it is a little tighter and more herbal, denoting more sensation of freshness in the wine even if the year was also warmish. But the peaks of heat did not reach the highs they did in 2022. It makes you think of the Bierzo wines from yesteryear, with the rain during the harvest. It's elegant but there's weight. Despite the price level, this is a wine that aged beautifully in bottle, something you don't expect in an entry-level wine. Final production figures were as expected, 297,867 bottles. The wine was bottled between January and April 2025. This keeps its position as one of the best values in Spain.