Today we feature another superb wine from Álvaro Palacios, but this time from the lesser-known region of Bierzo. The Monçerbal is one of the single vineyard wines produced by the estate and we are pleased to offer a very well-priced vertical parcel of the 2014,2015 and 2016 vintages.

Having received its DO status only in 1989, Bierzo is a relatively new region, one that Álvaro sees plenty of potential in. After his success in Priorat, Álvaro decided to work his magic with Mencía, the native grape of Bierzo and founded Descendientes de José Palacios in 1998 that is dedicated to this endeavour.

All wines released by Descendientes de José Palacios are predominantly Mencía from vines that are around 60 to 100 years old. According to Luis Gutiérrez, these vines sit at altitudes as high as 1,200 metres on slate slopes, yielding tiny quantities of grapes.

The 2014 Monçerbal is undoubtedly the star of the show, bearing a huge 98-point score from Luis Gutiérrez that ranks it as Wine Advocate’s second best scoring wine for the entire Spain. The 2014 Monçerbal shares that spot with yet another of Álvaro’s prodigious endeavours, the 2014 L'Ermita, the wine that propelled him to stardom since the 1990s. it also outscores Artadi’s 2014 Viña El Pisón but available at less than half the price! Only around 2,600 bottles of the 2014 Monçerbal were produced.

Both the 2015 and 2016 vintages earned similarly strong scores with glowing reviews across the board. James Suckling finds “aromas of black iron and dark slate” and a “very long, super mineral finish” in the 2015 and 2016 Monçerbal respectively, further suggesting that the 2016 Monçerbal “promises long aging potential”. Just around 3,500 bottles were produced for each of the 2015 and 2016 vintages.

Wine lovers looking for something off the beaten track should definitely give these delightful wines a try!