Origin, identity and passion
A robust winegrowing identity, a clean, pure natural setting, and a future full of vitality and character. Álvaro Palacios arrived in Gratallopsin 1989with a group of local producers, aiming to draw out the very best of the historic equation that defines this frugal, mystical land.
The rugged landscape of Priorat. Slopes carpeted with vines and compact, earthy villages hold the memory of a past linked to the Carthusian monks. Sheltered by the cliffs of the Montsantrange, the order founded the monastery of Escaladeiin 1194. From there it developed the culture of the vine for more than six centuries. That long monastic presence lives on in growing styles and methods, aided by a complex terrain that keeps the area isolated.
On steep hills of open, alkaline soils cling old Garnacha vines that hint at ancient wisdom.
Centuries of work by local farmers, the toil of draught animals, and a robust, vigorous winegrowing character that endures. And a sharply contrasting Mediterranean climate. With more than 3,000 hours of sunshine and less than 380 mm of rain a year, the nearby sea brings the freshness of the garbinada, the easterly breeze.
Across the estate's sites, thirty skilled pairs of hands know how to work this broken, sloping land. The mule climbs the unstable ground and the hoe opens up the llicorellasoils, the region's characteristic slate. It is a bond with living things, a constant search for purity: spirit and hardship, patience and passion, light and rigour. History, effort, and geography distil into wines of powerful structure and fresh minerality.
