2016 began with an exemplary winter that had low temperatures, fog and little rain, giving way to an exceptionally dry spring. Summer rainfall reached up to 55 mm in the month July, which was the only water relief the plants received during the vines’ evolutionary cycle. August and September were once again extremely dry, with higher-than-normal temperatures. Thankfully, cool nights retained the plants’ vitality and prevented the habitual descent of the grape’s acidity, delivering vivacious and cheerful wines. Garnacha, with its useful adaptation to aridity, continued its slow and methodical maturation, providing the winery upon harvest with grapes that were small size and contained ‘an extraction characteristic of the most mythical of vintages.’A vintage which Alvaro Palacios describes as ‘fulfilling the expectations caused by the last blows of the El Niño weather phenomenon,’ 2016 exhibited low production and extraordinary quality, with moderate alcohol levels and a higher acidity, coupled with greater concentration than in previous vintages. A vintage which Alvaro believes will ‘lead us down a long and languid path,’ the Palacios Remondo wines should age well in bottle and beautifully demonstrate ‘the life and the sublime acidity that can be found in a wine produced in a year of intense drought.’

The Garnacha and Tempranillo grapes were harvested by hand and then selected first in the field and again on a sorting table at the winery, before being put into stainless steel tanks for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation.Following a 20-day maceration with daily soft pump-overs, a portion of finished, first-press wine was aged for 4 months in used French oak tanks and the rest in French (80%) and American (20%) 225L oak barrels, before being fined and filtered before bottling in the late spring of 2017. Wine analysis: 4.8 g/l (0.48%) total acidity; 3.60 pH; 14.5% alcohol by volume

Wine analysis: 4.8 g/l (0.48%) total acidity; 3.60 pH; 14.5% alcohol by volume

Located on the slope of the Yerga mountain, at an altitude of 1,800 feet, the Palacios Remondo vineyards are grown at some ofthe highest points within all of Rioja. The winery’s estate-owned 10-to 40-year-old vines have been grown organically since 2003, where not a single chemical fertilizer or pesticide has been used for close to fifteen years. Their incredibly rocky soil is comprisedof sediments that stem from the Quaternary Era, consisting of iron-rich clay and a rock-strewn calcareous subsoil that is covered in small stones, with excellent drainage. Very low in organic material and with a moderated basic pH, the soil type is perfect for growing high quality fruit. All vines are narrowly spaced, pruned under a double cordon royat style, and never irrigated. By green harvesting and dropping significant fruit, Palacios Remondo ensured that only the highest quality fruit was picked during harvest, which took place between the 26thof September and the 29thof October. Sourced from the vineyards of La Montesa, Siete Caminos, Rihuelo and Valcaldera in the Yerga mountains near Alfaro.

2014 was the thirtieth vintage rated as 'good' by the D. O. Ca. Rioja's control board. Favorable weather conditions in spring and summer produced perfect growing conditions for the vines, evidence by excellent canopy development and plant health towards the end of verasion. Harvest began towards the middle of September and gradually accelerated until the first week of October, when 'the most intensive harvesting period in Rioja' usually takes place. During this period in 2014, more than 300 million kg of fruit arrived at the crush pad and the grapes' excellent health prompted optimistic forecasts for the majority of wines. By all accounts it was on problems for many of Rioja's farmers. An intense selection both in the field and at the winery was required in order to make sure only found the 2014 rosés and whites to be of exceptional quality, most likely due to the fact that the varieties that make up these wines are all typically harvested first.

The Garnacha and Temprnillo grapes were harvested by hand and then selected first in the field and again on a sorting table at the winery, before being put into stainless steel tanks for a whole-cluster maceration followed by alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Following the 20-day maceration, a portion of the wine was aged for 4 months in used French oak tanks and the rest in French (80%) and American (20%) 225L oak barrels, when it was then left unfined and unfiltered before bottling in late spring of 2015.

50% Garnacha and 50% Tempranillo Acidity 5.3 g/L pH 3.68 Alcohol 14%

Located on the slope of the Yerga mountain, at an altitude of 1,800 feet, the Palacios Remondo vineyards are grown at some of the highest points within all of Rioja. The winery's estate-owned 10- to 40-year-old vines have been grown organically since 2003, where not a single chemical fertilizer or pesticide has been used for over ten years. Their incredibly rocky soil is compromised of sediments that stem from the Quaternary Era, consisting of clay and a rock-strewn calcareous subsoil that is covered in small stones and has excellent drainage. Very low in organic material and with a moderated basic pH, the soil type is perfect for growing high quality fruit. All vines are narrowly spaced, pruned under a double cordon royat style, and never irrigated. By green harvesting and dropping significant fruit, Palacios Remondo ensured that only the highest quality fruit was picked during harvest, which began on the 20th of September.