2005 Alvaro Palacios : the scarcity of excellence

While the expectations and prices of the Bordeaux 2005 vintage futures market are setting new records, some of the superstars of Spanish wine also have great expectations for their 2005 offerings.

A case in point is Alvaro Palacios of the Priorat D.O.Q. The volume produced of their legendary L'Ermita is normally 12 oak barrels, or roughly 3,600 bottles. Due to lower-than-average rainfall, the 2005 vintage is expected to be about 8 barrels maximum, or 2,400 bottles. The winery should be releasing L'Ermita 2005 in October 2007. Presently, Barcelona's leading wine shop Vila Viniteca, is taking pre-release sales on their allocation of 625 bottles of L'Ermita '05 at a price of 429 Euros a piece.