A lightly sweet digestif from a historic sherry house. Even amongst old wineries, Valdespino stands out. The Macharnudo Alto plot, the bodega's most fameous, was awarded to one Don Alfonso Valdespino in 1264! It was his reward for being one of the 24 knights who expelled the Moors from Jerez. Espite that history however, by the time of the 20th century the bodega was dilapidated and near bankruptcy. After being bought by Grupo Estevez and under the direction of "new" head winemaker Eduardo Ojeda, this old house is reminding everyone why it was historically the highest regared house in all of Jerez.
This bottle is an example of a "Medium" sherry, a style created by English wine mechants to satisfy a taste for something sweeter than the normally austere Amontillado or Oloroso but less so than PX. This wine is made from a 95%/5% blend of Tio Diego Oloroso and El Candado Pedro Ximenez, with Tio Diego taking up the majority stake. The Tio Diego is 100% Palomino Fino from the Macharnudo Alto vineyard on pure Albariza soils. The El Candado is 100% Pedro Ximenez (or PX) that is sun dried before fermentation. Each goes through their own solera system before bing blended just before bottling, with an average age of around 10 years old.
