Rioja

The Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja is located in the north of Spain, on both sides of the River Ebro. It is divided into three large zones: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental. With more than 65,000 hectares of vineyards, each town and terroir have its own personality, making Rioja a unique land.

Rioja is the oldest Designation of Origin in Spain (1925) and the first to earn Calificada status (1991). Red grapes represent 90% and white grapes represent only 10%. Tempranillo, 88% of the red, is the most important grape and is at the heart of Rioja’s best wines. It makes abundantly fruity, light wines and has a special affinity with oak-ageing, becoming graceful, silky and perfumed with time.

Depending on the time the -red- wine remains in the barrel, it is classified as Crianza (aging in oak barrels and bottles must be a minimum of two calendar years), Reserva (minimum of thirty-six months, with a minimum time of twelve months in oak barrels), Gran Reserva (minimum of time in barrel of twenty-four months, followed and supplemented with an aging in bottle of at least thirty-six months).

Alvaro Palacios

Born in 1964, Alvaro Palacios spent his childhood in his parents’ bodega, Palacios Remondo, in Rioja Oriental.

At a time when Spain had forged a reputation on branded wines, Alvaro Palacios had set his sights on a more ambitious, pioneering vision to make Great Classic Wines!

His search led him to Priorat, in Catalonia, where Garnacha traditionally reigns supreme. Through his world-class wine production, notably ‘l’Ermita’, Alvaro Palacios has reinstated the reputation of the wild, isolated region of Priorat into a legend in its own right.

In the late 90s, in search of a new challenge, this time joining forces with his nephew Ricardo Perez Palacios, his passion led him to Bierzo, a relatively recent appellation in the region of Castilla y Leon. Alvaro Palacios launched Descendientes de J. Palacios, where through their continued hard work and dedication, the duo has succeeded in creating top-quality wines.

On the death of his father in 2000, Alvaro Palacios took over the helm of the Palacios Remondo in Rioja. He has since brought new dynamism to the family winery. Today, Alvaro Palacios has far exceeded his vision of Making Great Classic Wines to become one of Spain’s most iconic winemakers, recognised globally for revolutionising the Spanish wine industry by the most eminent wine critics.