2017 Finca Dofi (Priorat)

One of Priorat’s pioneering producers, Rioja native Alvaro Palacios, whose family owns Palacios Remondo, arrived in Gratallops in 1989. Palacios is the winemaker most responsible for bringing the world’s attention to the region’s outstanding wines. The family estate is in Rioja Oriental (formerly known as Rioja Baja, a name I much prefer) so Palacios was no stranger to Garnacha. Today, Alvaro Palacios makes five Garnacha-centric wines in the tradition of the zone, with a total production of about 35,000 cases per year. Roughly 3,000 of those (the rare L’Ermita, Finca Dofi and the Gratallops Vi de la Vila) are sourced from his own vineyards, while the Terrasses and Petalos bottlings are made mostly from purchased fruit grown in over 100 small parcels spread across Priorat. All of these wines, raised in his expansive, meticulously maintained and modern cellar, are of extremely high-quality. While the estate wines may not be easy to find, there’s usually plenty of Terrasses and the entry-level Petalos to go around. Both of those wines consistently deliver outstanding value.