2023 Alvaro Palacios L'Ermita Priorat

(98+ Points) The "gran vinya classificada" single-vineyard 2023 L'Ermita was also bottled and singing. From the 4.7 hectares of the vineyard, they selected four for this vintage, with a blend of 84% Garnacha, 13% Cariñena, 2% Picapoll and 1% white grapes, Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo and PX. It fermented with part of full clusters and indigenous yeasts in oak vats with a longer maceration than in 2022, a total of 42 days, followed by an élevage in French oak oval foudres of 13 months and two more months in concrete. Last year, I found it darker, earthier and a little more rustic than the 2022 wine, but it has bloomed since then. It's much more ethereal and floral, with notes of fresh grape pulp, and it has contained energy, interwoven with spices. This is now somewhere in between the more perfumed and ethereal wines like Dofi and La Baixada and the earthier, darker and more powerful like La Baixada. 4,730 bottles were filled in February 2025.  Drink Date: 2026 – 2040, The Wine Advocate