Valdespino Inocente Fino Sherry

Valdespino Inocente Fino is the only sherry to be produced using grapes from one vineyard. The Solera system employed by Valdespino is similarly unique, being a 10 scale system rather than the customary four. One of the meanings of this Spanish word [solera] is a plinth and this might (for no one quite knows how the word came to stand for this complicated Jerez system of equalising wines) give some clue to the provenance of the word, for it has been argued that when the bodegas were formerly used as drinking rendezvous for the friends of the proprietor, guests used to ask for their next glass " off the floor," i.e. from the lower butts on the scantling which were the best.The above serves as an introduction to the solera system. In the bodega a group of butts will usually be arranged in tiers of four or (less commonly now) five and this group is operated as a single unit to produce one only matured wine. The young wine enters the solera by way of the topmost row of casks, which in turn has given a proportion of its wine to the second row, and so on until the row on the ground floor is again replenished. This explains why sherry with a vintage added to the label must be a misnomer. But a sherry labelled Solera (say) 1986 purports to show that it comes from a group of butts laid down that year, for theoretically there always remains an infinitesimal fraction of the original wine.

TASTING NOTES:Made from 100% Palomino grapes and fortified with Jerez Brandy. Aged a minimum of five years. Bright straw colour. Fine, delicate yeasty nose. The palate is crisp and elegant, displaying nutty flor yeast character and a hint of saltiness. Finishes long and dry. A little lighter than other finos we’ve tasted – nevertheless an excellent aperitif. Served chilled.16.5% alc./vol.