Alvaro Palacios, L'Ermita, Priorat 2021

2,925 bottles were filled the 13th of February 2023.

The bottled 2021 L'Ermita has lower alcohol than usual, 13.9% the lowest ever!) and a pH of 3.31 with 5.62 grams of acidity. It fermented with 55% full clusters with indigenous yeasts in oak vats, with punching down of the cap and a maceration of 41 days. The wine matured in oval French oak foudres for 12 months. They had snow in January and then some rain in late August, and the ripeness was very slow. It's a very subtle year; surprisingly, it can be born from such arid and dry slate soils.

It has delivered what the wine has always promised. It has a lot of energy and subtleness, and there's something ethereal about it, contained strength, harmonious, with watermelon freshness, notes of Mediterranean herbs and rockrose; and it has more elegant tannins than Finca Dofí. It's a velvety wine, with very contained wood unnoticeable), very clean and precise. After one hour in the glass, it showed a lot more depth and complexity than Aubaguetes. This is another legendary vintage for l'Ermita.

Drink 2024 - 2040

Take your time to appreciate this beauty. This is different from the richer and more opulent 2020, instead, it is more mineral, with a rather thick shield of minerality that makes it feel ethereal yet protective. Finely ground white pepper, violets, herbs and a hint of bacon and slate to the blue and red berries. Medium to full body on the palate with melted tannins and a long, bracing finish. Such energy, flair and harmony here. Can’t expect more.

Drink or hold

A Gran Vinya Classificada, L'Ermita is one of Spain’s most renowned wines and it's easy to see why. This is glorious, starting with a fabulously decadent nose of wild plums and minerals. The palate is superbly long and textured, with a firm line of redcurrant freshness and a very long, sapid, mineral finish. It's hard to fault and will age beautifully. Matured for 12 months in foudres.

Drink 2024 - 2044

Hailing from one of the iconic vineyards of Priorat, with terraces rising up to L'Ermita de la Mare de Déu de la Consolació, the 2021 L’Ermita is exceptional. A pristine, purple-hued wine, its complex and precise aromas feature elderberry, pomegranate and sour cherry with a faintly herbal undertone—delicate and nuanced. True to the Palacios style, this wine is taut and compact, with an intensely flavored palate sculpted by supple tannins and an infusion-like texture. This is Priorat at its best.

Drink 2025 - 2040