Sunday 30 September 2012

Fino Perdido 15%, Sanchez Romate

Appearance
Deepish fairly bright golden straw, deeper than many Finos, light legs.
Nose
Lovely, quite intense aromas of flor - bread dough, almond, a certain salinity, yeast and very finely controlled oxidation, more intense and serious than many finos, little if any Marmite, but very complex and quite soft.
Palate
Soft and gentle yet full of flavour and elegance, trace acidity balances beautifully with the yeasty roundness, the very earliest hints of Amontillado are there but it is delicious as it is without going any further, quite savoury with just a hint of salty nuts with a tang of flor on a very long finish.


Comments
From a tiny 15 butt solera called Celestino which is run less frequently than the bigger Marismeno solera, this wine is at least 8 years old and bottled "en rama" - with minimal filtration. It is a style rarely seen nowadays, unfortunately. In Sanlucar the Manzanillas Pasadas are better known, being Manzanillas with more ageing and thus depth. In Jerez, however, there are few "Finos Pasados", and the term is not actually used. Some are approaching the style such as Hidalgo's La Panesa or perhaps Valdespino's Fino Inocente, but this is a cracker. Alexander Jules used it for his 22/85 bottling.
Price
Around £10.00, available from the Wine Society

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