Close
Search
Filters

L'Ermita 2016 150cl

DOCa | Catalonia | Spain
Sold out

All vintages

2016
Critics scores
100 By Robert Parker
As I saw in some of the other wines, there is a lot more Cariñena in the still unbottled 2016 L'Ermita than in the 2015. The varietal breakdown was approximately 85% Garnacha, 14% Cariñena and 1% white grapes—Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo and PX. The grapes are manually sorted and destemmed by the team that picks them and are put to ferment in an oak vat with the natural yeasts from the grapes. Malolactic was in barrique, which is where the wine was maturing when I tasted it. It has electric acidity that makes it vibrant, even if the nose might be a bit shy. I don't remember a vintage of L'Ermita with this concentration and acidity. We have to see how the élevage rounds it out, but this could be a very important vintage for L'Ermita. The expectation is to bottle some 2,000 bottles of this in May/June 2018.
Producer
Alvaro Palacios
Embodying the new spirit of Spain, Alvaro Palacios was established in the Priorat region around the late 1980s. Founder, Alvaro Palacios actually comes from a large family, which owns the well-respected Palacios Remondo estate in Rioja. After years of vinous studies and international experiences (working under Jean-Pierre Moueix at Pétrus), Alvaro bought this small property planted to 10 hectares of extremely low-yielding old vines. The combination of his modern, yet calculated techniques in both the vineyard and cellar, produce one of the most important Spanish wines today – L’Ermita. This single-vineyard wine is a blend of mostly Garnacha, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cariñena, which is aged in new French barriques for up to 20 months. Exclusive and exceptional, L’Ermita is the region’s greatest example, it has a complexity, a depth and a concentration that is unrivaled.