Wine tasting: new Spanish wines 'can touch the soul and heart'

Alvaro Palacios represents the modern face of Spanish wine. Palacios is from a traditional Rioja producing family. Time spent studying in Bordeaux and working at Chateau Petrus allowed him to view Spain from a different perspective. Since his return, he has become a pioneer and innovator in revitalising ancient wine regions.

Palacios' mission is to make "wine that can touch the soul and heart". Palacios believes that you cannot make a great wine where monks had not been before, citing the vineyards of St-Émilion and Champagne as notable examples.

His search led him to the mountainous region of Priorat in the northeast of Spain. Vines have been cultivated by the monks since the 12th century and Priorat is named after the Carthusian Monastery of Escaladei (Staircase to God). The main cultivated grapes are garnacha and samsó (also known as carignan). The current trend is the addition of international varieties such as cabernet sauvignon.

In 1999, Palacios and his nephew Ricardo's wine journey took them to the remote northwest of Spain, to Bierzo, where vineyards have been cultivated since Roman times. The main grape is the indigenous variety, mencia. It can produce wines ranging from fruity and friendly with firm tannins, to concentrated beauties with long ageing potential.

Descendientes de J. Palacios Las Lamas 2007
Palacios describes Las Lamas as "capricious and the most beautiful person in the world" and "more opulent in texture, richer and a carnal wine". It is made entirely from mencia grapes. Palacios attributes the character of the wine to the intense midday sunlight which "hits the soul of the vineyard". Closed, black fruit, savoury and earthy. Great fruit intensity and a long finish. Starting to show great complexity but still very youthful. Will benefit from ageing. HK$1,543