2020 Vintage

92pts

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2018 Vintage

93pts

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2018 Vintage

91pts

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Denominacion de Origen

Vino de la Tierra de Extremadura

Location

Alange, Extremadura

Varietal

Trincadeira Prieta, Touriga Nacional, Garnacha Tintorera, Syrah

Vineyards

The vineyards for Palacio Quemado extend over 100Ha. surrounding the bodega. La Zarcita is sourced from sub-plots of this larger vineyard which were selected for their orientation, quality of soil, and grape varieties.

Year(s) Planted

1999

Viticulture

Rolling hillside vineyards. Guyot training. Exhaustive manual field work, dividing the vineyard into small sub-plots, which are managed in an individualized manner. Sustainable viticulture without the use of harmful fungicides, pesticides, herbicides, irrigation, or fertilizers.

Soils

Mainly calcareous clay

Climate

Continental with influences from the Atlantic Ocean

Winemaking

La Zarcita is named for a small stream that runs through the vineyards of Palacio Quemado. Ultimately, La Zarcita is a single vineyard wine, and reflects the terroir of the soils and appellation through the use of indigenous Portuguese and Spanish varieties. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks. Winemaking is advised by the Envinate team who have been working with the Alvear family on the Palacio Quemado estate for some time, and also source fruit for their own label from this estate.

Aging

75% of the wine is aged for eight months in second and third use 500L barrels from Allier, Vosges, and Nevers forests. the final 25% is aged in uncoated concrete tanks.

Comments

The Alvear family founded Palacio Quemado in 1999, with the intention of exploring and championing the unique terroir and indigenous varieties of the land of Extremadura, located in the Spanish south-west. Their relationship with Envinate, a young and dynamic winemaking team that works all over Spain, has grown for many years. La Zarcita is one of two wines that Alvear produces in conjunction with Envinate at the Palacio Quemado estate, where the team of Envinate has produced their own label for quite some time. The philosophy of this wine is to blend different indigenous varieties from the single Palacio Quemado estate to produce a young and fresh expression of the terroir of Extremadura.