Descendientes de Jose Palacios : Las Lamas 2024

Characteristics and tasting tips for Las Lamas 2024 from Descendientes de José Palacios

Food and wine pairing
This great wine from Bierzo pairs beautifully with roasted or grilled red meats, such as a rack of lamb or beef fillet, as well as game birds like pigeon or partridge. Its spicy, fruity character also suits slow-cooked dishes with mushrooms, such as a daube or a civet, as well as fine charcuterie and hard mountain cheeses.

Serving and cellaring
Las Lamas 2024 benefits from decanting at least one hour before serving and should be stored at a cellar temperature not exceeding 12°C. With excellent ageing potential, this grand cru from Corullón will reach its peak after its tenth year in bottle, from around 2034 onwards.

Las Lamas, a schist grand cru at the pinnacle of Bierzo

The estate
Founded in 1999 in Corullón, in Bierzo (Castile and León), Descendientes de José Palacios is now run by Álvaro Palacios and his nephew Ricardo Pérez, the estate's winemaker and technical director. The house has become a benchmark in Bierzo's winemaking renaissance, driven by certified biodynamic viticulture, old Mencía vines planted on dizzyingly steep schist slopes and a hierarchy of single-parcel cuvées, among which Las Lamas stands as one of the flagships. Rigour, respect for terroir and artisanal craftsmanship define its identity.

The vineyard
Las Lamas comes from a single parcel on the estate, planted on the very steep slopes of the village of Corullón, in the heart of Bierzo. Facing due south, this high-altitude vineyard lies between 670 and 730 metres, on Palaeozoic soils with a laminar structure, dominated by schist and clay, where the oxidation of minerals gives the earth its orange and ochre hues. The vines, aged between 70 and 120 years, are bush-trained, with neither irrigation nor green harvesting, and farmed according to the principles of biodynamics and certified organic agriculture, with the soil ploughed by mule. Yields are extremely low, at around 30 hectolitres per hectare.

Winemaking and ageing
After partial destemming, the grapes for Las Lamas 2024 are fermented in wooden vats with indigenous yeasts, with regular punching down of the cap. Maceration lasts forty days, followed by spontaneous malolactic fermentation carried out directly in oak vats. The wine is then aged for seven months in a combination of foudres, bocoyes and barrels, without fining, cold stabilisation or filtration, in order to preserve all the substance and precision of this Spanish wine.

Grape varieties
Las Lamas 2024 is made from 94% Mencía, complemented by 3% Alicante Bouschet and 3% Jerez, a white grape variety, all from the same parcel on the estate.