L'Ermita, Alvaro Palacios 1994

Saturated ruby. Flamboyant aromas of black raspberry, smoked meat, soy sauce and smoky oak; roasted but not at all over the top. Huge, sweet and sappy, with the roasted ripeness repeating in the mouth. Superripe-verging-on-unctuous yet amazingly vibrant, thanks to chewy buffering extract. Has a huge structure for long life in bottle, but Palacios says this is even less evolved than the '95. This was long, lush and fresh after 24 hours in the recorked bottle. Should develop for years but is a knockout right now.

This remarkable estate is the creation of Senor Alvaro Palacios, a young passaionate winemaker who was impressed enough by potential in the northeast corner of Spain's Catalonia to purchase a property in Priorato. His two Priorato vineyards include L'Ermita, which is an organically cultivated 25-acre vineyard. At L'Ermita, 80% of the plantings are Grenache, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and small quanties of Carignan. At Clos Dofi, 60% is planted in Grenache, with the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. They are aged in 100% new French oak and bottled without filtration.