Descendientes de Jose Palacios 2020 'Corullon' Vino de Villa, Bierzo DO

Descendientes de Jose Palacios 2020 'Corullon' Vino de Villa, Bierzo DO

Item Number: 17759

UPC: 8-436559741422

Country: Spain
Region: Castilla y Leon
Sub Region: Bierzo
Appellation/AVA: Bierzo DO
Estate Grown Wine: Yes
Vintage: 2020
Grape(s): 97% Mencia / 3% White Varieties
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 14.1
Viticulture: Practicing Biodynamic
Soil Type: Slate and granite
Case Production: 2,000

Terroir Notes: Villa de Corullón is built from a dizzying array of the village’s top sites, including not only Monçerbal and Las Lamas, but also San Martín and Fontelas, both of which were once notable single-vineyard bottlings. The blend also includes La Faraona’s neighbor, Ferro, along with Vasnada, María Cota, and Bruxa, each representing a different elevation, exposure, and soil. As such, Villa de Corullón is the ultimate expression of the village’s terroir. Its combination of generosity and precision makes a case not only for Corullón’s special status, but also the superiority of Álvaro’s and Ricardo’s winemaking. All the vines are between 60 and 100 years old.

Winemaking Notes: The grapes are harvested and sorted by hand. 10%-30% whole clusters are used and maceration lasts from 45-90 days in oak vats. Yeasts are indigenous. It's then aged in a mix of barrel sizes, from barrique up to foudre with 15-20% new wood. It is not fined or filtered before bottling.

About Descendientes de J. Palacios: Alvaro Palacios was already a celebrated producer of Priorat when he teamed up with his nephew Ricardo Perez, a Bordeaux trained enologist (worked at Château Margaux and other Bordelais firms like Moueix) absorbing everything he could about great wines, to fulfill his early passion for making great old vine wine from the Mencia grape. In their estate vineyards around the little town of Corullón on Bierzo’s western border, Alvaro and Ricardo believe they have found a unique combination of soils, old vines, and a distinctive variety that will yield grands cru wines. Today they farm 86 acres, all biodynamically, spread over roughly 200 plots. The Bierzo D.O. was established in 1989. Alvaro and Ricardo were pioneers of the region, starting Descendientes de J. Palacios in 1999. They have since catapulted Bierzo to one of the star regions in Spain.

Reviews

  • The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 97 (6/30/2022)
    I was blown away by the 2020 wines in barrel in June 2021 and found the 2020 Villa de Corullón very ready, open, expressive, floral and ethereal. It destroyed the idea I had of a warm and ripe 2020. Ricardo Pérez Palacios told me he was thinking of bottling the 2020s earlier, as they didn't need a long élevage, just nine or 10 months in barrel. The wine is pale, the palest Corullón ever, with 13.7% alcohol—perhaps the vines got blocked and didn't develop more color compounds or sugar. The wine makes me think of a red from Jura; it has a different profile and is more delicate, ethereal and full of light and energy. Pérez, who hates comparisons with other regions, couldn't stop saying that it felt like a Morey Saint Denis! It's all flowers and red fruit, with a lot of super fine tannins (the 2019 tannins are rougher) that are round and give it a velvety texture with no rusticity—elegant and balanced. There is a nice balance between tannin and acidity, something this has in common with the 2019, which makes the vintages quite unusual, because being warm, the wines show balance. Today, it feels more like Moncerbal than the Moncerbal bottling; nevertheless, Corullón is around 40% from Moncerbal. ... It has to be my favorite Corullón to date.
  • The Wine Spectator
    Rating: 93 (10/15/2023)
    Fresh and silky, this focused version shows flavors of baked black raspberry, red licorice and cocoa powder that glide across the palate.