WTN: Alvaro Palacios "Les Terrasses" 2004

My very first wine from Priorat.

Incredibly dark purple in the glass.

Spicy and rich cherry fruit on the nose.

Very big and full in the mouth, spicy, black cherry fruit, red and black licorice, tarry, showing some of its high alcohol toward the end.

An enjoyable wine, but rather simple and straightforward. I guess I had built up my expectations too high, based on everything I had heard and read about the region.

Les Terrasses is Álvaro's entry-level wine. It is expensive for an entry-level wine, yes - but that's a fact of life in Priorat, thye land of vineyards on steep hillsides that have to be tilled entirely manually or with mules, and with yields of around 0.6 tons/acre...

My very first wine from Priorat.

An enjoyable wine, but rather simple and straightforward. I guess I had built up my expectations too high, based on everything I had heard and read about the region.

Bruce, you just might have tried this about 5 years too early. The 1999 is really drinking well right now, and has considerably more complexity than your note on the 04 suggests.