Glorioso Gran Reserva (1981) (Only 4 available)

Bodegas Palacio was established by Bilbao businessman and politician Cosme Palacio, his brother Manuel, and father Angel, in Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa) in 1894. In The Wines of Rioja, John Radford tells a fascinating history: "This was not a good time in Rioja: no sooner had Cosme established his business than the phylloxera louse appeared and proceeded to decimate the vineyards. Some bodegas laid down and died, others fought the plague with every new idea at their disposal. Cosme's reaction was atypical: he simply moved his operation to Valladolid in Castile-Leon (where phylloxera would not strike for several years more), rented a bodega, and hired a promising young winemaker by the name of Txomin Garramiola to make a wine in the Rioja style, until he could return to Rioja. Txomin went on to make a wine called Vega Sicilia in 1915, and the region became the DO Ribera del Duero in 1982..." The bodega has changed hands a number of times since its initial sale in 1972, but the Glorioso lineup that was first bottled in 1928 persists to this day.

^* required fields