Alvaro Palacios Les Aubaguetes, Priorat DOCa, Spain 2022
Alvaro Palacios Les Aubaguetes, Priorat DOCa, Spain 2022
The 2022 Les Aubaguetes comes from 1.79 hectares planted in the early 1900s (it's 122 years old!) on blue slate soils and surrounded by trees in the village of Bellmunt del Priorat. This 2022 wine is 86% Garnacha, 13% Cariñena and 1% white grapes. During the native fermentation in oak vats with some full clusters, it had a shortish maceration of 23 days. It should complete 14 months in oval oak foudres before it's bottled. It has 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.49 and 4.68 grams of acidity. It has a slightly darker profile this year, with notes of licorice and an earthy touch. It has abundant, slightly dusty tannins that coat your mouth. This is going to require a little more time. The plan was to bottle it in March 2024 with a production of around 3,200 bottles.
97 Pts Luis Gutierrez, Robert Parker