Alvaro Palacios Finca Dofi 2014

The nose is more lush with deep, black and red fruit and cassis and a delicate scent of sweet flowers reminiscent of carnations. In the mouth it is compact, with a fibrous texture, with a suggestive volume and texture and size.

If anyone embodies the promise and spirit of “The New Spain,” it’s Alvaro Palacios. His L’Ermita is widely considered—along with Peter Sisseck’s Dominio de Pingus—to be the most important Spanish wine of the modern era. One of nine children born to the owners of Rioja’s respected Palacios Remondo, Alvaro studied enology in Bordeaux, while working under Jean-Pierre Moueix at Ch. Pétrus. He credits his tenure at Pétrus for much of his winemaking philosophy and for showing him “the importance of great wines.”