Descendientes de J. Palacios Pétalos del Bierzo is a red wine from DO Bierzo produced by the Descendientes de J. Palacios winery. It is made from Mencía. The grapes come from plots of very old vines, between 50 and 90 years old. These low-yielding vines give fruit of very high quality. The vineyards that produce Pétalos del Bierzo are planted mainly on slate soils on steep slopes. The harvest is done by hand, with a first selection directly in the vineyard. At the winery the grapes are destemmed and fermented for about 25 days in open wooden vats and stainless steel tanks. This is followed by malolactic fermentation, which lasts two months in closed wooden vats and stainless steel tanks. Pétalos del Bierzo then ages for 10 months in French oak barriques and is filtered and fined before bottling. The wine enjoys great prestige: the 2011 vintage was named the best value-for-money Spanish wine by Robert Parker. Descendientes de J. Palacios is owned by Ricardo Pérez Palacios, nephew of the renowned winemaker Álvaro Palacios, famous for his outstanding work in DOQ Priorat, who also collaborates with the family winery.
