2018 Alvaro Palacios L'Ermita Priorat is sold out.

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98-pt "classical and proportioned"

Wine Bottle
  • 99 pts Wine Advocate
    99 pts RPWA
  • 98 pts James Suckling
    98 pts JS
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2018 Alvaro Palacios L'Ermita Priorat 750 ml

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  • Curated by unrivaled experts
  • Choose your delivery date
  • Temperature controlled shipping options
  • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

"Grand vin, yes"

Alvaro Palacios L’Ermita is the pinnacle of Spanish wine. No, that’s not hyperbole. 

Grown from the unchallenged L’Ermita vineyard, this is a singular red wine that showcases why Priorat in general (and Alvaro Palacios, specifically) has taken the world of fine wine by storm. 

The 2018 is elegantly lifted on the nose, full of wild strawberry, wild herbs and violets. Classically composed and beautifully structured, L’Ermita is equal parts power and refinement. Dark berries and spiced vanilla pirouette into a long finish, driven by Priorat’s classic notes of crushed earth and minerals. It’s a wine that absolutely lives up to the reputation of its legacy. 

L’Ermita is the Priorat region’s crown jewel, an old-vine vineyard that cranes skyward from the classic, schistous, llicorrella soils of Priorat’s steep vineyards. Named for, and inspired by, the dramatic vineyards of Hermitage— and similarly crowned with an ancient chapel—this ancient Grenache plot produces unique, intensely concentrated grapes that yield incredibly long-lived wines. The mineral-tinged tension of wines from L’Ermita is impossible to overlook, and lends Alvaro Palacios’ interpretation an inimitable layer of complexity.  

The 2018 vintage, a fantastic season for the Palacios team, was praised by Wine Advocate for its “aromatic, intense and elegant,” character. An extra dash of Carignan in the 2018 adds extra floral perfume to the nuanced, lingering finish of this L’Ermita release.

Founder Alvaro Palacios is a descendant of the legendary Palacios clan made famous for their stunning Rioja wines. Like many Spanish vintners, his quest began in Spain, but took a multi-year detour through Bordeaux to discover the nuances of great Châteaux first-hand. It was those years, and the inspiration he found in the great classed growth estates of Bordeaux and singular domaines of the Rhône which led him to Priorat. 

Across the region’s uncharted terroir, he became one of the leaders of the Priorat renaissance. The rest is delicious history, which we invite you to taste today.