Alvaro Palacios : Les Aubaguetes 2023

Tasting characteristics and recommendations for Alvaro Palacios’ Aubaguetes 2023

Tasting

Appearance
The appearance reveals a deep, seductive color with intense purple highlights.

Nose
The bouquet is marked by elegance and promising complexity, gradually unveiling its aromas as it aerates.

Palate
On the palate, this red wine displays great distinction with a harmonious structure and a promising character that speaks to the exceptional potential of this vintage.

Food and wine pairing

This Priorat red wine pairs beautifully with grilled red meats, slow-cooked dishes with herbes de Provence, and characterful aged cheeses.

Serving and cellaring

Les Aubaguetes 2023 is best enjoyed at 60–64°F (16–18°C). This wine has excellent cellaring potential and can be kept until around 2035 approximately.

Other characteristics

This wine has 14% alcohol by volume, with a pH of 3.59 and total acidity of 4.4 g/L, revealing a perfect balance between power and freshness.

An exceptional Priorat wine by Alvaro Palacios

The estate

In 1989, Alvaro Palacios founded his eponymous estate in Priorat, Catalonia. As owner and current director, Alvaro Palacios remains one of the emblematic figures of modern Spanish viticulture. Trained in Bordeaux and at Château Pétrus, he was a pioneer of the Priorat renaissance alongside René Barbier and José Luis Pérez. His century-old Grenache and Cariñena vines, grown on steep slate slopes, produce exceptional cuvées such as L'Ermita, recognized worldwide.

The vineyard

The Les Aubaguetes vineyard covers 1.79 hectares in the village of Bellmunt del Priorat. Facing due north on very steep slopes, it reaches between 220 and 288 meters above sea level. The soils are composed of stratified siliceous slate (llicorella) with a silty texture, mixed with sandstone and microconglomerates dating from the Paleozoic era. These 123-year-old vines benefit from a Mediterranean climate with strong maritime influence and are cultivated according to the traditional methods of the Priorat with organic certification.

Winemaking and aging

After manual harvesting, fermentation is initiated by native yeasts and takes place in wooden vats. Malolactic fermentation is carried out in barrels and followed by aging in barrels and foudres. This Catalonia wine is neither filtered nor fined.

Grape varieties

Grenache (60%), Cariñena (35%), and white varieties (5% composed of Grenache Blanc and Macabeo).