Fino Tio Mateo 15%, Marques del Real Tesoro

Appearance

Bright pale straw gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Attractive. Lots of flor, touch saline and minerally with a little bitter almond and slight apple notes behind and a distinct yeastiness, very bright, fresh and clean.

Palate

Broadly similar, quite a light style of wine and delightfully bitter what with the flor and almond tones. There's an element of appley Palomino fruit too, so the whole thing balances perfectly.

Comments

A really good refreshing Fino which certainly stimulates the appetite. The wine is made by Grupo Estevez under the name Marques del Real Tesoro, although it was originally made by Palomino & Vergara who were taken over by Harveys, and the brand found its way to Estevez via Allied Domecq and Pernod Ricard. It was the focus of some controversy for a while after the company wanted to put the words "Contains hardly any Histamine" on the label. The CRDO didn't like it, neither did the Andalucian courts, and it was forbidden in 2006. This ruling was overturned in 2009 by the Tribunal Superior. Histamine is a substance found in many fermented products (red wine is full of it - though Sherry is quite low) as well as foods such as cheese, cabbage tuna, tomato. People who have a deficient enzyme in the intestine can get awful headaches among other symptoms. So Jose Estevez came up with some undisclosed way to reduce histamine content in Tio Mateo, known as the Metodo Estevez. Apparently it in no way affects the quality of the wine nor does it contravene any CRDO production rules. Certainly the wine is lovely, and it is a bit over 4 years old. The solera system contains some 2,500 butts with three criaderas plus, of course the solera. The grapes come from both the Macharnudo and Corchuelo pagos.
Price
About 5 euros, widely available