Grapes: Grenache, Carignan

In 1989, the Catalan wild and untamed Catalan region of Priorat wasn't particularly well known for its wines until a small handful of winemakers realised the potential of the extremely old-vine Garnatxa there - one of which being a young Àlvaro Palacios.

It was this early investment into the care and quality of the vines and the wines they created that led to Priorat being only the second wine region to be given Spain's highest appellation classification of DOQ (DOCa in the rest of Spain) in 2003.

I visited the region myself a while back and remember standing in a field with a vineyard worker who pointed at all the wild fennel growing around us. She told me to rub it in my hands and have a sniff. "Remember this smell every time you drink Priorat," she said. Nearly a decade on with a glass of this wine in front of me I am enamoured with the waft of fennel creeping through the wild berry boquet.

This wine is far more delicate than you might expect. A truly refined piece of work from a wild and rustic place.