Luis Perez Caberrubia Villamarta Tres Palmas de la Barjuela 2013

45yo low-yielding Palomino grown on Barajuelas: layered, structured, iron-proud. Like soil, like wine. 15.5% natural abv. Hand-picked grapes are collected over a two month stretch, then given 6 or 7 hours of soleo. Only 35% of the must is taken from basket press and this ferments spontaneously in bota until December. The fruit is then classified as Fino or Oloroso. The Fino (classified as Una Palma) selection is then put to biological ageing for two years, but with little ullage. This is to attenuate the development of the flor, and allow soil-related aromas to continue to dominate the wine, which is given a relatively short time under flor. 3 botas of 400 litres each result in this un-fortified Fino of freshness, finesse, and immense chalky structural depth.

Here we get a full five years of biological ageing. The resultant wine is a deep, developed Fino, classified as dos Palmas - significantly augmented character from ageing, but still entirely consistent with its original designation.

Increased volume, more salt, more acid: ripe fruit, dried straw, chalk drying on boots, ground nut meal, the smell of toast, the ocean and flor. Really classical Fino with fine, spritely secondary acidity, and a really complex volatile spectrum.