Val do Bibei Valdeorras As Sortes Rafael Palacios 2024 (750ML)

96 Points, Virginie Boone, JebDunnuck.com: "A new release, the 2024 As Sortes Val Do Bibei offers modest, subdued aromatics of dried herb and wet stone. There’s tension and minerality from the high altitude and northern exposure of the Godello vines, not to mention the age of the vines, the oldest in the producer’s book. A precise, laser-focused wine of integrated acidity that persists throughout the medium-bodied palate, the flavors angle around citrus, apple, and chestnut, with so much freshness from the cooler days and nights the grapes get to enjoy at this higher elevation. Fermented in barrel and aged another eight months in oak, it’s just gorgeous. Drink now through 2036.The youngest brother of Alvaro Palacios, one of the pioneers of modern Priorat, and uncle of Ricardo Perez Palacios of Descendientes de J. Palacios in nearby Bierzo, Rafael Palacios came to Valdeorras in 2004 and started buying neglected vineyards planted to forgotten native Godello in low-yielding soils at the highest elevations. The winemaking here is modern, with a nod to tradition, using horse and mule in the highest vineyards. (Drink between 2026-2036)" 01/26