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Bodegas Valdespino Oloroso Don Gonzalo VOS Single Vineyard Jerez DO — this wine is fermented in 600-litre American oak barrels, while the vast majority of producers in this region already use stainless steel tanks. Exclusively wild yeasts, naturally found in the vineyards, are used to produce this Sherry, whereas, again, competitors have switched to cultured yeasts. All of this sets this wine apart from other Sherries made by less traditional methods.
Oloroso-style Sherry is produced exclusively from Palomino grapes and is aged oxidatively: this is achieved, in contrast to Fino and Manzanilla, by adding neutral grape spirit, which both halts fermentation and prevents the protective flor layer from forming. Thus, the wine matures for a full 20 years under the constant influence of oxygen. The result is a wine of complex yet gentle structure.
The grapes for this Sherry are sourced exclusively from the Carrascal vineyards. As mentioned, ageing takes place over a minimum of 20 years in exceptionally old oak barrels (some of the casks date back as far as the 19th century) through the solera system.
On the nose, notes of toast, almonds, walnuts, caramel and vanilla dominate. As the wine warms in the glass, aromas of plum and peach emerge. On the palate, the wine is dry, spicy and gently piquant. As with the aroma, the influence of oak is also felt on the palate. The wine boasts a truly long and evolving finish, in which the previously encountered notes of nuts, caramel, plum and vanilla take their turn one after another.
Serve at 18 °C with foie gras duck liver pâté or a creamy, richly flavoured Camembert cheese.
