Alvaro Palacios Finca Dofi 2018 (750ML)

96+ WA / 96 VM

The origin of everything here and the first single-vineyard red, the 2018 Finca Dofí excels in 2018. Those 10 hectares planted 20 years ago in the village of Gratallops are mostly Garnacha, but the wine also has some 8% Cariñena and 2% white grapes. They all fermented after being destemmed and lightly crushed in oak vats with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured in large oak barrels (bocoyes and foudres) for 16 months. This is the refined version of the Gratallops (the vineyard is in the village!) but with an extra degree of depth and complexity, especially nuance and elegance, showcasing the captivating finesse and harmony of the vintage, which is a little in the style of the 2016 with more energy. I see that these 2018s are quite transparent and show the style of the zone, the iron soils, the dusty roads and the warmth of the soils; it's round and lush, spherical but with a spike of freshness. The élevage has been polished so as to render it almost invisible. This is drinkable now, and I think it's also going to age nicely in bottle and drink nicely throughout its life. 29,540 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2020. LG – The Wine Advocate

Full ruby-red. Mineral-accented red and dark berry preserve, incense and exotic spice aromas are complemented by suggestions of licorice and candied violet. Seamless and penetrating on the palate, showing superb clarity to sweet, mineral-inflected black raspberry, cherry cola, spicecake and violet pastille flavors. The mineral quality echoes emphatically on the youthfully tannic, impressively long finish, which shows outstanding energy and floral lift.-- Josh Raynolds – Vinous Media