2017 Alvear Palacio Quemado 'La Zarcita' Spain

The Alvear family founded Palacio Quemado in 1999, with the intention of exploring and championing the unique terroir and indigenous varieties of the land of Extremadura, located in the Spanish south-west. Their relationship with Envinate, a young and dynamic winemaking team that works all over Spain, has grown for many years. La Zarcita is one of two wines that Alvear produces in conjunction with Envinate at the Palacio Quemado estate, where the team of Envinate has produced their own label for quite some time. The philosophy of this wine is to blend different indigenous varieties from the single Palacio Quemado estate to produce a young and fresh expression of the terroir of Extremadura.

La Zarcita is named for a small stream that runs through the vineyards of Palacio Quemado. Ultimately, La Zarcita is a single vineyard wine, and reflects the terroir of the soils and appellation through the use of indigenous Portuguese and Spanish varieties. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks. Winemaking is advised by the Envinate team who have been working with the Alvear family on the Palacio Quemado estate for some time, and also source fruit for their own label from this estate.

Ageing: Trincadeira Prieta, Touriga Nacional, Garnacha Tintorera, Syrah. 75% of the wine is aged for eight months in second and third use 500L barrels from Allier, Vosges, and Nevers forests. the final 25% is aged in uncoated concrete tanks

Opaque magenta in color, the nose is floral, and boasts some approachable red and blue fruit aromas. The palate is round and soft ready to pop open tonight.