Álvaro Palacios grew up alongside his eight siblings at the Palacios Remondo estate, and a life in wine seemed inevitable from the beginning. His path eventually led to Château Pétrus, where after several years of professional training he returned to Spain almost as the winery’s second-in-command. Traveling through Spain’s historic wine regions as a barrel merchant, he discovered the then largely unknown Priorat and immediately fell in love with its 12th-century vineyard terraces and austere slate soils, locally known as llicorella. Since the 1989 vintage, his name has been inseparable from the region. His first vineyard was Finca Dofí, followed in 1993 by the acquisition of the legendary grand cru site L’Ermita, planted between 1900 and 1940. From its earliest vintages, it became one of Spain’s most revered and expensive wines.

When Álvaro arrived in Priorat in 1989, only four estates operated there. Local growers sold grapes to cooperatives, and the wines were traded in bulk for less than one euro per liter. Ten years later, a bottle of L’Ermita sold for over 400 euros; today it commands nearly three times that amount.

Another great classic of the estate is Camins, an estate wine based on Garnacha, complemented by Cariñena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. It embodies everything Álvaro Palacios wines stand for: capturing Priorat’s wild and bucolic spirit while remaining refined, elegant and cosmopolitan. Packed with red fruit, juicy texture, very fine tannins and just the right amount of depth. A joy to drink.