Álvaro Palacios

Álvaro Palacios is one of nine children born to the owners of Rioja's Palacios Remondo. He studied enology in Bordeaux while working under Jean-Pierre Moueix at Château Pétrus. In 1989, Álvaro Palacios arrived in Priorat as one of the Gang of Five. In 2006, he began vinifying old vineyards across Gratallops separately.

His vineyards in Priorat, 60 miles from Barcelona, are farmed without chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, with mules working steep terraces. Vineyards are planted with regional Garnacha clones interspersed with small amounts of other varieties, including white grapes. They include Finca Dofí, acquired in 1990; L'Ermita, a northeast-facing vineyard planted between 1900 and 1940; La Baixada, the north-facing side of the original Dofí vineyard; and Les Aubaguetes, a Garnacha plot in Bellmunt producing 1,500 bottles annually. Finca Dofí is aged in large French foudres and made primarily from Garnacha, with less than 20% Samsó (Carignane) and around 2% white varieties. Les Terrasses draws on many of the region's oldest and steepest vineyards, many facing north.