Alvaro Palacios Priorat Clos l’Ermita 2015 750ml

Aromas of blueberry, purple fruits, violet petal, blue slate ... moss. Full body yet compacted and compressed with amazing mouthfeel of fine-grained tannins. Structured yet superbly balanced making it so attractive now. 2,300 bottles made. Drink or hold.

Tasting L'Ermita is always an emotional moment, as it's one of the great reds from Spain. The 2015 L'Ermita is 91% Garnacha, 8% Cariñena and 1% split between Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo and PX from the most famous single vineyard in Priorat. It fermented in oak foudre with indigenous yeasts and also had its élevage in foudre, which lasted for 15 months. The juicy freshness of this 2015, citric and vibrant, makes it very different from the rest of the portfolio. This is transparent, precise, like laser cut, chiseled, subtle and elegant, showing very open and expressive, with great freshness and the core of Mediterranean flavors. 2,200 bottles were filled in February 2017.

Alvaro Palacios said at the London en primeur tasting: 'L’Ermita is the caprichosa, the spoiled baby. L’Ermita’s soil is cold, and it’s harvested late: on 5 November in 2013 and 28 October in 2015. We harvest late because of the temperature of the soil, which has 2 diagonal areas of granite running through it. And we have 200 different vineyard plots. Like La Faraona [Bierzo] and Valmira [Rioja], it is grown at the limit – which means it is a spellbinding wine, a fresh wine out of one of the warmest places.’ Alvaro Palacios L’Ermita 2015 has a dense dark purple core with pinkish edge in colour. Generous brambly aromas. The palate arrives silky and smooth with bright acidity and dancing freshness. Strikingly cool and elegant, with a very fine texture. Superb finish, full of promise for a terrific future ahead of it. There were 2,400 bottles made. This wine was a barrel sample tasted in London on 17 March 2016.