Alvaro Palacios - Quinon de Valmira 2015 (750ml)
Wine Advocate: 97 Points
I was really curious to taste the 2015 Quiñón de Valmira from bottle, as the sample I tasted in the summer of 2016 reminded me of a Trousseau from Jura! They now tell me the other variety that is planted intermixed with Garnacha, which might contribute some 5% to the blend, is Tinta Velasco. It's sourced from one single vineyard on limestone-rich soils at 626 meters in altitude, planted 31 years ago and farmed organically. The grapes were hand-picked on September 28th, the bunches destemmed and the grapes crushed and put to ferment in an oak vat with indigenous yeast and manual pigéage for some 39 days. It has a captivating nose of wild herbs, fruit and flowers. The palate has incredibly deep flavors, pungent, mineral, fragrant, precise, chiseled and symmetric, pleasurable, harmonious and really impressive. Malolactic was in barrique and the élevage in 600-liter oak casks called bocoyes for 20 months. It's somehow austere, with umami/mineral sensations and nicely textured. It lingers in your mouth forever. 2,045 bottles, 10 magnums, 15 double magnums and seven five-liter bottles were filled in July 2017.
