2019 Petalos, Descendientes de Jose Palacios, Bierzo, Spain
OVERVIEW
One of the world's great value wines and has remained so for a decade since the Mencia craze exploded around 2012 with the great 2010 vintage. Petalos is available for just under £25 and as so is one of our recommendations for best wines in the world under £25.
This 93 point effort had the critics in agreement and the dry, long growing season produced some of the best fruit ever seen in the region. Given that Petalos comes from vines of up to 90 years old wine, these low yielding vines produced some of the very best fruit they ever have during this vintage. We recommend a case buy!
CRITIC REVIEWS
Dark cherries, plums, dried herbs and stones on the nose. Full-bodied with fine-grained tannins. Rich, layered, and textured with minerality and balance. Supple finish. Drink or hold. 93 Points. James Suckling
Even though the 2020 is already hitting the shelves, I also tasted the 2019 Pétalos, a very balanced vintage that shows moderate alcohol and great balance. It is very approachable right now, open aromatically, and despite what the parameters might read, the wine comes through as fresher than the 2020. This is a wine produced with around 80% purchased grapes and 20% grapes from their own vineyards. There are notes of berries but also plenty of herbs; it's aromatic and complex, with very fine tannins. It's a classical continental vintage from Bierzo. Best After 2022. 93 Points. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
FOOD PAIRING INSPIRATION
A hearty red that stands equal to any Fabada or Cocido you'd like to pair it with. Mencia famously goes well with grilled pork and lamb plus a host of other hearty meat based dishes.
VINTAGE AND WINEMAKING
The driest vintages in living memory in Villafranca, and giving the proximity to Galicia, this is a rare year indeed. The heat though was never exceptionally intense and the whole growing season seemed to simply echo spring, consistent warm temperatures and little rain and a long harvest due to the favourable conditions meant fruit could be picked at its absolute peak ripeness. The vintage has superb acidity and aromatics and is reminiscent of 2010.
Once inside the winery, the old vine grapes going into Petalos are destemmed and fermented for around a month in wooden vats. Malo is then enacted for about two months in closed wooden vats and open stainless steel tanks. The wine is then transferred to French oak barrels and ages for 10 months before being filtered, clarified and bottled.
PRODUCER NOTES
Villafranca del Bierzo and the vineyards around sit on the Camino de Santiago, the town of Villafranca was expanded by French pligrims who brought along the Mencia grape that has found i's home and greatest expression here in this region of Spain, sandwiched between Galicia and Castille Y Leon. Alvaro Palacios was a Spanish native selling French barrels around his home country and was constantly day-dreaming about where he would put his own vineyards if he could ever set up a winery; his two favourite locations were Priorat and Bierzo. He set up his first winery in Priorat, and took the wine world by storm with "L'Ermita" and "Finca Dofi. However, Alvaro never forgot his dream in rural Bierzo setting up Descendientes de Jose Palacios to further international acclaim.
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SERVICE AND STORAGE TIPS
We recommend this wine undergoes at least 2 hours decanting and should be ideally stored around 12°C and served at room temperature.
DELIVERY INFORMATION
Delivery is free when you spend over £150. For orders under this amount then a £9.99 delivery charge will be applied.
We use a tracked UPS delivery service who provide text and email tracking updates.
Every bottle sold by CoolerSomm is subject to our quality guarantee. If a wine is corked or faulty, we will replace it.
2019 Petalos, Descendientes de Jose Palacios, Bierzo
| Wine Card | |
| Wine Producer | Descendientes de Jose Palacios |
| Wine Region | Bierzo |
| Wine Classification | Bierzo DO |
| Wine Type | Red |
| Grape Variety | Mencia |
| Vintage | 2019 |
| Vintage Quality | Excellent - Outstanding - Parker |
| Maturity | Drink Today but Will Improve |
| Body | Full Bodied |
| Sweetness | Dry |
| Alcohol % | 13.5% |
| Bottle Type | Burgundy 75cl |
| Serving Temperature | 16-18°C |
| Food Pairing | French charcuterie, Brie, Camembert, Chicken, Turkey |
| Awards | 93 Points - James Suckling |
| 93 Points - Robert Parker |
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