Alvaro Palacios Gratallops, Priorat, Spain

奧瓦羅酒莊格拉普紅葡萄酒

點擊次數(shù)：11647

The blend of the 2021 Gratallops was higher in Cari?ena than in the 2020 (25%), which resulted in a wine with a lower pH (3.37), the tendency that makes the 2021s more vibrant. They used some 40% full clusters for the fermentation (rather than adding the stems like in the past). The wine has acid berry freshness; and right now it's a bit difficult with the tannins and the acidity, but one more year of élevage should make it more polished. It should be long-lived and fresh. The expect some 17,300 bottles to be filled around April 2023.

There were Mediterranean notes of aromatic herbs, aniseed and fennel in the nose of the 2020 Gratallops, the village wine that this year changes to a Burgundy bottle. It's a blend of 87% Garnacha, 12% Cari?ena and 1% white grapes, Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo and PX. It has good, contained ripeness and 14.5% alcohol with good freshness and moderate acidity. They used 15% full clusters for the fermentation, which was increased in 2021. 10,522 bottles and some larger formats were filled in April 2022.

The 2019 Gratallops is a village wine produced with grapes from different Gratallops vineyards, which are mentioned on the label, with a varietal breakdown of 87% Garnacha, 12% Cari?ena and 1% white grapes (Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo and Pedro Ximenez) from organically farmed vineyards. It fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in large oak vats for 13 months. There is a lot of finesse and elegance, tons of red fruit, a bright ruby color with a blue hue, and a velvety mouthfeel. In general, the wines from 2019 are very aromatic, expressive, open and floral, and there is no sense of heat or alcohol in any of them. They come through as perfectly balanced. It was bottled in April 2021, and 16,670 bottles were produced.

The "vi de vila" or village wine, the 2018 Gratallops is a blend of 74% Garnacha, 25% Cari?ena and 1% white varieties that were crushed and destemmed and then fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured in oak containers of different sizes, bocoyes and oval foudres, for 15 months. This is the most approachable and open of the 2018s; it's aromatic and has the characterful profile of wet slate, nuts, Mediterranean herbs and acid berries. It has a lively palate with great acidity but especially with complete but sustained freshness. It has fine tannins and is nicely textured. Textbook Priorat. 18,740 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2020.

The red "vi de vila" (village wine) 2017 Gratallops is a blend of 80% Garnacha, 19% Cari?ena and 1% white grapes that fermented crushed and destemmed in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in oak bocoyes and foudres for 15 months. This is the wine that surprised me the most when they were poured and I first put my nose in the glass. It feels floral, aromatic, clean, open and expressive like no other Gratallops that I remember. It seems quite marked by the Garnacha, with notes of Mediterranean herbs, red berries and fennel. For álvaro Palacios, the wines from Gratallops have to have ripeness, not be very dark in color, with brightness, red rather than black fruit, not heavy, with the textured sensation of the slate soils. However, not all wines show the character of the village, as some people are still using foreign varieties, sometimes picking overripe, extracting too much and using too much oak, which hides the character of the wines. The wines have to be transparent. This Gratallops could very much represent the character of the place. All of the 2017s have very low pH, which is quite remarkable for the extremely warm and dry year. This has to be among the best Gratallops to date. 18,900 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2019.