2020 Zarate Albarino El Palomar
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Tasting notes
Single vineyard with 150-year-old vines. Fermented in a 15-year-old 2,200-litre foudre of French Vosges oak. Spontaneous malolactic conversion. After the first racking, the wine remains in contact with its fine lees for a further three months before bottling. Tasted blind. Lemon candy, minerality and very full on the nose. Pleasant chalky touch. On the palate it is full, ample, balanced, with some richness. Very well made, with a pleasant lemon-lime flavour on the back palate. (FC)
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Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2020 El Palomar is an Albariño, and it fermented and matured in a well-seasoned and neutral 2,200-liter French oak vat with lees and without racking until after malolactic, after which it was racked and kept with the fine lees for a further three months. It has 12.9% alcohol and a pH of 3.25 and 6.32 grams of acidity (tartaric). It's fresh and elegant, with great purity and nuance, very expressive and open. It's surprisingly harmonious for such a young wine. I don't remember any young vintage of El Palomar as balanced, open and expressive as this. This is phenomenal. 2,900 bottles were filled in June 2021.