The Aubaguetes 2019

If there is one winemaker from Spain whose talent and genius is recognized worldwide, it is that of Alvaro Palacios . His wines, full of complexity and elegance, have given new life to the wines of Spain. The winery, based in Spain's Priorat wine region, is renowned for producing wines that faithfully reflect the region's unique terroir. Álvaro Palacios, a pioneer in the use of biodynamic viticulture methods in Spain, has greatly helped raise the profile of Priorat wines with its innovative and high-end vintages.

"Auba" means shadow in Catalan and Álvaro Palacios points out that the best Priorats were planted in the shade. Cuvée Les Aubaguetes is a wine made from a blend of Grenache and Carignan. The grapes come from a north-facing plot, tempered by the sea breeze, and which finds its balance thanks to the freshness of the winds. Some of the vines are over 110 years old. This very special vineyard is composed of soils where siliceous slate (llicorella) predominates, worked according to the principles of organic farming. In the winery, the grapes are destemmed and the berries are gently pressed. Fermentation is carried out in small wooden vats using indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged for 16 months in tuns and old barrels and will then be bottled without fining or filtration. This wine gives off intense aromas of black fruits , wild berries , blackberries , Samsó blueberries, blue plums , slate , dried flowers , undergrowth, and Mediterranean spices . The palate is of great density, but whose seductive side is already attractive, with a precise and ethereal structure. The finish is long and mineral, carried by fine and powdery tannins. Power and elegance translate this incredible wine.

The history of wine in Spain is so old that no one really knows who brought the first vines to the region. When the Phoenicians arrived some 3,000 years ago and founded the present-day cities of Cádiz and Jerez, viticulture was well established and Spanish wines were widely marketed throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa. You could say that Spain is a wine miracle. After years spent away from the world of fine wines, she is today a major player. Investment and ambition in the vineyards and cellars results in increasingly rich and complex (often very alcoholic) and spicy reds which are increasingly appreciated by international consumers. Proud to have more land devoted to vines than any other country, Spain is only beginning to capitalize on this resource consistently. Spain is an anarchic tangle of regions and sub-regions, just as its landscape is an anarchic tangle of incredibly raw landscapes. A glance at a map reveals the climatic diversity among Spain's many wine regions, from the soggy green vineyards of Galicia on the northern Atlantic coast to the toasty vineyards of southeastern the Mediterranean. Spain's saving grace, in terms of viticulture, is the average altitude of its vineyards, above 600 meters. A large part of Spanish vineyards therefore manage to produce grapes of good color and acidity simply because night temperatures are relatively low and the grapes do not ripen until the end of a sufficiently long growing period. But there is real treasure to be found for those willing to dig and, now that a class of connoisseurs has developed in Spain, all manner of ambitious investors have done their part to change the image of Spanish wine . Today, a new generation of winemakers has quietly begun making spectacular wines and experimenting with grape varieties that would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Wine remains an important commodity and is an integral part of Spanish culture.