Desc. de José Palacios Bierzo Pétalos 2019

93 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): “The 2019 Pètalos from the Ricardo Perez’s and Alvaro Palacios’ Bierzo project, Descendientes de J. Palacios, is a superb young bottle of Mencía. The wine offers a pure and complex bouquet of dark berries, graphite, pomegranate, a hint of anise, stony minerality, tree bark and a bit of chicory in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with a fine core, excellent soil signature and grip, ripe tannins and a long, complex and very promising finish. This bottling is designed for early drinking, but to my palate, the excellent 2019 Pètalos is too serious to drink without giving it at least a handful of years in the cellar to let some of its backend tannins soften up and more of the submerged complexity here to surface. This is excellent. 2027-2055. (Jan/Feb 2021)”

93 points James Suckling: “Dark cherries, plums, dried herbs and stones on the nose. Full-bodied with fine-grained tannins. Rich, layered, and textured with minerality and balance. Supple finish. Drink or hold. (8/31/21)”