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Spain's best new wines are coming from some surprising places, thanks to the efforts of vintners like the uncle-and-nephew team of Alvaro Palacios and Ricardo Pérez Palacios. Alvaro, originally a cooper, sold his barrels around Spain to raise money to buy up old vineyards and produce his first vintage in Priorato in 1988. In 1999 nephew Ricardo, 27, returned from his studies in Bordeaux to start his own venture in Bierzo. "We realized we could produce top-quality wine, and wanted to use the native stock where possible."
Now reds from Bierzo, Priorato, Toro, Somontano and Costers del Segre can easily hold their own against more famous rivals from La Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Penedes. If whites are your thing, the Albariņo grapes of Rías Baixas give an intense pale-gold nectar with a tropical-fruit scent that's excellent with the seafood of this northwestern region. In Rueda, 190 km northwest of Madrid, fruity whites like Palacio de Bornos are made from the traditional Verdejo variety, sometimes mixed with imported Sauvignon blanc grapes.
"They took a big gamble," says Rafael Pena, head of the wines of the world department at Lavinia, Madrid's largest wine seller, "but it has paid off." With new regions and Denominaciones de Origen being recognized all the time, Spain's once-secret wines are taking a well-deserved place on international wine lists.
- JANE WALKER
- A new generation of vintners is producing outstanding Spanish wines