Rafael Palacios

Belonging to one of the most illustrious winemaking families in Rioja – he is the son of José Palacios Remondo, founder of Bodegas Palacios Remondo – Rafael Palacios, despite his youth, has been responsible for the immense popularity that the whites of Valdeorras have gained over the past decade. Just as his renowned older brother Álvaro did fifteen years earlier when he headed to Priorat, Rafael decided in 2004 to leave the family nest and bet on a stagnated Denomination of Origin and a grape variety – godello – with enormous potential.

Rafael Palacios reclaimed 21 hectares of godello and treixadura vineyards divided into 26 plots, called sortes in Galicia because they are inherited by lottery among the children of the same family. Most of them are cultivated in a completely traditional way on terraces along the banks of the Bibei River and provide the winery with the raw material necessary to produce the wines that have elevated Rafael Palacios as one of the great winemakers of this country.

In 2022, his wine Sorte O Soro 2020 was crowned as the great Spanish white wine by achieving the prestigious “100 Parker points” awarded by the renowned American publication The Wine Advocate. It is the first wine from Galicia to achieve such a coveted score: a true milestone.