Originally from La Rioja, Álvaro Palacios comes from a winemaking tradition that has spanned generations in his homeland. When he discovered Priorat in the late 1980s, he fell in love with its vineyards, landscapes, and people. He decided to settle in Gratallops, along with other emerging projects born in that same period, which would, within a few years, turn the region into one of the most prestigious wine-producing areas in the world. Álvaro manages around 30 hectares of vineyards, distributed across small plots in various valleys around Gratallops. More than half of these are planted on terraces built on slopes, with the remaining third on “costers”. The most planted variety is Garnacha tinta, followed by Cariñena and smaller percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot. Along with the red varieties, he often includes some white grapes in the final blend, such as Garnacha blanca, Macabeo, or Picapoll. After a decade, he built his current winery, utilizing the natural slopes of the land to allow for gravity-fed winemaking.