2017 Bodegas Palacio Glorioso 100 Anos Seleccion Especial Crianza Rioja 750 ml

When Michel Rolland arrived in Laguardia in 1985 to meet his first-ever Spanish client, he had no way of knowing that he was about to change Rioja forever. 

He shook hands with Jean Gervais, the new Director of Bodegas Palacio, which was one of a handful of Rioja bodegas founded prior to 1900 and a bastion of traditionalism. But Gervais was out to shake things up.

Rolland and Gervais decided to make their Crianza the most exciting wine in the cellar. They gave old-vine Tempranillo fruit a relatively short, 13-month rest in new French oak—rather than a longer stay in musty, old American oak. Deep in color and concentration, full of freshness, a new, modern style of Rioja emerged.

The Glorioso 100 Años Selección Especial celebrates this breakthrough. It’s a barrel selection of old-vine Tempranillo crafted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the winery’s “Glorioso” line of Riojas. New winemaker and Master of Wine Almudena Alberca has delivered a level of ripeness and power rarely seen in a Crianza—unless we’re talking about $150+ superstars like neighbor Artadi.

When Rolland arrived, Gervais told him that in international markets, fresh, fruit-driven, deeply colored reds were in. Pale, weak, over-oaked Rioja was out. The solution they concocted was to start treating old-vine Tempranillo a little more like classified-growth Bordeaux. A new category was born, still reverberating and generating 100-point scores today.

We discovered this wine thanks to our friend and wine scout David at Napa’s iconic Spanish spot, Zuzu. We opened the wine and let it air for about 30 minutes as sizzling tapas dishes arrived. Suckling was spot-on with this one: this Rioja is absolutely gorgeous and open for business.