Wine Advocate 96

The 2021 Les Terrasses Velles Vinyes was truly impressive, a blend of 70% Garnacha and 30% Cariñena. It’s a lively and vibrant Priorat with lower alcohol and higher acidity and more freshness, pointing at a great vintage in the making. This could very well be the finest vintage of Terrasses, a wine that Álvaro Palacios defined as a year of concentration and class. The wine is clean and pure, with great precision. It matured in barrel and cask for the past seven months, and the wine will continue its élevage for one more year. They expect to fill some 110,000 bottles and 2,000 magnums around May 2023. (94-96)

While originally conceived of as a value wine, Les Terrasses “Velles Vignes” has slowly evolved into the essence of what makes Priorat special. Drawing on 15+ years of study, Terrasses is sourced from many of the region’s steepest and oldest vineyards—many of them north-facing to avoid the intense afternoon sun. With the 2007 vintage, Alvaro acknowledged Les Terrasses’ “graduation” by adding the “Velles Vinyes” designation to the label.