Alvaro Palacios is one of SPain's true stars and a reent Decanter Man of the Year. One of Alvaro’s biggest decisions as a grower and winemaker was to return in 1999 to his family bodega Palacios Remondo, located in Rioja Baja (Oriental). He had just spent some time making a name for himself in Priorat but wanted to return to his roots, on the condition that the future direction of the winery was up to him.
Palacios Remondo was originally founded in 1948 but it is under Alvaro’s leadership that the winery really took off and started to produce some of the most respected wines of the Rioja Baja region…albeit probably best described as unconventional at the time for they were not made the traditional way!
Despite the ‘invasion’ of Tempranillo plantings everywhere in Rioja in the late 1980s, Alvaro stood firm in his belief in Garnacha, not least because he knew that the hotter, drier climate of Rioja Baja was better suited to this variety. Current plantings at the bodega are 70% Garnacha and 30% Tempranillo but the proportion of Tempranillo is steadily decreasing.
