smooth and velvety! luscious and fully mature. — 17 days ago
Last Sunday lunch with Roast Lamb. A 20 year old Rioja fitted the bill nicely. A blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo. Aged in new French and American oak for 24 months. Aromatics of tobacco leaf, plum, ashphalt and a bit of tar. A medicinal note the following night. The palate is medium to full bodied with berry, plum and liquorice. Resolved Tannins - quite fluid. This was Wine Spectators No. 1 wine for 2013 and now drinking at its peak but could go on for another 5 years on the evidence of this superb wine. — a month ago
Wine tour in Priorat — 5 hours ago
Presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine is a deep ruby color with a slightly purple hue; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. No signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of black and red fruit: Ranier cherries and blackberries along with some dried earth, soft wood notes, some faint baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins (that seem to build) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and comes off a touch reserved in the end. Initial conclusions: this could be a Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Grenache-based blend or Bordeaux-blend from either Spain, Italy, France, the United States or Australia but the fruit doesn’t impress so I’m leaning away from the New World. I don’t get enough candied fruit to put me in the Southern Rhone and I think the oak treatment seems a bit liberal for that. And if this Sangiovese, I would be pissed. So I’m calling Tempranillo, from Spain, Rioja, Reserva, 2018. Daaaaang. I was close. Drink now with patience and enjoy through 2036.
— 17 days ago
Colorful and vibrant in the nose. Superb consistency. Fruity and foral taste. Gentle finish. — 7 days ago
Cherry punch with a soft finish. Barcelona with parents — 2 days ago
Medium-deep ruby color.
Aromas of black cherry,
Dry. Flavors of cherry, soft spice, subtle herbal. Medium-rich, chewy tannins.
Intensity: 4/5
Complexity: 2/5
Balance: 4/5
Finish: 4/5 — 8 days ago
Tasted blind & I whiffed on all my guesses- because I had forgotten lithe, elegant, Burgundy like sappiness CAN come from Priorat, & especially this producer, Palacios. I adore their cheaper bottlings too, for very much the same reasons. With air it’s rose petals & ripe cherries for days on the nose, & a perfectly balanced palate of ripe dark cherries, but also some gaminess which made me think Northern Rhone at first. A real treat, especially for Spanish nay-sayers — 2 months ago
Bob McDonald
See previous note 2 years ago in March 2022. Still very consistent impressions. Black and blue fruits, as mentioned before. Dried plum and earth with herbal notes (fennel). Priorat Garnacha and Garnacha blends are some of my favourite wine styles. Clos Mogador is biodynamic and Rene Barbier does not use chemicals in the vineyard. — 10 days ago