Descendientes de J. Palacios, S.L.
In the late 1990s, Álvaro Palacios came to Bierzo in search of a new challenge after having achieved great success in the Priorat. Bierzo, in the far northwest of Castilla y León, awaited him with its wild, craggy landscape where heather, rock roses and holly oaks dominate the flora, with its climatic and geological characteristics, and with the fascinating grape variety Mencía.
His first experience with this native grape variety was with the Pérez Perreira family at their Castro Ventosa winery in the village of Valtuille de Abajo. In 1999, he teamed up with his nephew Ricardo Pérez Palacios, known as Titín, to found the Bodega Descendientes de J. Palacios in the municipality of Corullón.
Red wines from Descendientes de J. Palacios, S.L.
from Descendientes de J. Palacios, S.L.
The first challenge was to get to know the terroir and gain valuable experience year after year. Since those days, Ricardo Pérez has become a driving force in the Bierzo wine region, making a considerable contribution to the new DOP regulations and the classifications in Bierzo.
The winery covers a total of 45 hectares on 220 plots, some of which are extremely small and situated on slate soils in steep slopes between 500 and 850 metres above sea level. That requires hard manual labour using horses or mules. Biodynamic methods are also employed. Most of the Mencía vines are between 60 and 90 years old. However, many of the older plots also feature other grape varieties such as Garnacha or white Godello and Jerez (Palomino). The region is exposed to various climatic influences – both Mediterranean and Atlantic. Under these complex conditions, Álvaro Palacios and Ricardo Pérez succeed in producing fragrant, elegant, yet energetic wines with their own unique signature. Moncerbal, Las Lamas and La Faraona from the single vineyard El Ferro are their internationally acclaimed flagship wines, while the Pétalos and Corullón wines are the stepping stones into the wonderful world of wine in this special part of Spain for any wine lover.
Producer
Tarlant
The Tarlant family can look back on a long family history, one that can be traced back to 1687. For almost three and a half centuries they have devoted themselves to viticulture in the Marne Valley in the Champagne region. But it was only after World War I that the first hugely successful Champagne Tarlant was created. Today, brothers Jean-Mary and Benoît operate the family-owned company.
Cantina Monti
Located at 550 meters above sea level, with extreme slopes, the Cantina Monti covers 4.7 hectares. The sloping soil does not allow mechanization in the vines, which includes nine different grape varieties. Every season, the Monti family immediately focuses on the production of superior quality wines, a quality also given by the very low yield in the vineyard.
De Toren
De Toren is one of the first wineries in South Africa to producing classic Bordeaux-style wines. Since its foundation, the De Toren vision has been and remains the reinterpretation of the Bordeaux concept and to create unique South African wines from the five grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. De Toren is one of the first wineries in South Africa to producing classic Bordeaux-style wines. Since its foundation, the De Toren vision has been and remains the reinterpretation of the Bordeaux concept and to create unique South African wines from the five grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.