Descendientes de Jose Palacios 2023 'Corullon' Vino de Villa, Bierzo DO

Descendientes de Jose Palacios 2023 'Corullon' Vino de Villa, Bierzo DO

Item Number: 22821

UPC: 8-436559742016

Country: Spain
Region: Castilla y Leon
Sub Region: Bierzo
Appellation/AVA: Bierzo DO
Estate Grown Wine: Yes
Vintage: 2023
Grape(s): 97% Mencia / 3% White Varieties
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 13.5
Viticulture: Practicing Biodynamic

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 Alvaro’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 (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.
  • 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.