SPAIN Ximènez-Spinola - Palo Cortado 0.75L

Designation of Origin: Jerez De La Frontera (Sherry) DO

Color: white

Type: fortified wine                     

Grape variety: Pedro Ximènez       

Alcohol content: 17%

Bottling Location: Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) SPAIN

 

Description:

It's striking to the eye with its splendid, clear, and dense dark amber color, while on the nose it expresses citrus and milky notes of aging, along with hints of fine wood, hazelnuts, and dried figs. The palate is intense, ample, elegant, persistent, and incredibly dry for a sherry, making it better paired with cheeses than with desserts.

The most mysterious of the wines from the Jerez-Xerez-Sherry region (a name in three languages, which alone speaks volumes about its historical importance, even to the French and British, for a region that has been producing wine for two millennia, and is no coincidence Spain's first Denominación de Origen ), Palo Cortado is a highly complex wine, delicate like an Armontillado and full-bodied like an Oloroso. Made from vines grown on the typical chalky, almost desert-like white soil called "albariza," it develops a light "velo de flor" after fermentation (the particular layer of yeast, with a frothy, yellowish appearance, which unlike other yeasts, does not settle at the bottom but changes metabolism and rises to the surface, where it stabilizes and proliferates, creating a sort of cover that protects the underlying wine from oxidation, thus isolating its olfactory and flavor components). This veil dissolves after the first 24 months, with a surge in the wine's oxidative development. Furthermore, its distinctive “solera system” also contributes to its uniqueness, whereby the sherry is aged and blended with progressive top-ups from other barrels of the same style but of different ages, ensuring continuous aging and a constant integration of aromas and flavors.