Deep amber to pale chestnut with old gold reflections.
Nose
Complex and interesting with faint traces of flor and minerality hiding behind the more upfront and attractive oxidation with notes of caramel, apple, almond - turron yema tostada - and a gentle saline note. It has a certain youthful fruit which balances sublimely with clean oxidation and while it is beautiful now it has great potential for further ageing.
Palate
Full and quite intense with a glyceric roundness, yet it is perfectly dry. There is amazing presence and it has all the charm of youthful oxidation with that apple and caramel and a hint of toast and very subtle reflections of the Manzanilla where it began. Super fresh and clean with a gentle texture and a very long satisfying finish. This is lovely.
Comments
Many people visualise Palo Cortado as a rare mature wine with at least 15 years of age, but such a wine is simply an older version of this. After all PC is classified as such after little more than a year in sobretablas and is then refortified to 17.5% after a very brief period under flor. This delicious wine comes from the bodegas of La Guita where oenologist Eduardo Ojeda and his team conduct a few experiments. While it is young, this is still a Palo Cortado, showing the precise characteristics of its type. It is also a vintage wine, from 2010. The grapes all came from the same vineyard in the pago Miraflores La Baja and the wine was matured in a mixture of traditional butts and 225 litre barrels filled to the brim to avoid excess oxidation. This release comes from a dozen of the latter, selected for their balance and delicacy. 3,200 bottles were released.
Price50 euros, Pura Cepa
To be worth the same or more than many of Europe's absolutely top wines, it has to be exceptional.
ReplyDeleteSomewhat giving the lie to the idea that Palo Cortado is an 'accident'.
ReplyDelete