Ojo de Gallo 2015 12%, José Estévez

Appearance

Fairly pale strawy gold with silvery highlights, very slight legs.

Nose

Very fresh, young and vibrant with some generosity, trace vegetal – almost smells like the vineyard -yet fruity as well with stewed apple, melon and glacé fruit notes, then there is noticeable strawy, chalky minerality, and all these factors produce a very natural nose. Who says Palomino is neutral?

Palate

A certain raw, wild freshness is there despite low acidity but that gentle Palomino fruit balances nicely without the need for much acidity. The minerality carries the flavour through sufficiently and gives the wine length. It is dry and clean with a slightly chalky feel, and is a very attractive, characterful wine with real vineyard flavour and truly tastes of Jerez - and it really grows on you.

Comments

Made from single vineyard Macharnudo grapes from old vines, fermented in tank and bottled in May 2016 without any flor or oak influence, this is a young table wine which really gives you a taste of the great Pago Macharnudo. Fino Inocente is made from the same must but is barrel fermented. It is sealed with a driven Diam cork and the only downside is that only 1,000 cases were made. This is the first release of the wine, and it has a bright future. It is classic vino blanco from Jerez and very well priced. I’m thinking about how it will age in bottle, and it might develop some slight Sherry characteristics over 2-3 years. Right, I’m off to buy some more….

Price

7.55 euros from Licores Corredera                                 

1.7.16 Beltrán Domecq Re-elected Consejo President; Estévez Launches Table Wine

After the Consejo elections on the 17^th June all those elected were sworn in at a plenary meeting today. Beltrán Domecq continues as president and his new vice president is Salvador Espinosa, president of the cooperative Las Angustias and owner of Diez-Mérito. Now that the elections are settled the result goes to the Junta agriculture department which will publish it in an official bulletin.

Things are looking up in Jerez and the election of the president and vice president are seen as a signal of burying the hatchet and giving a new impulse to Sherry. The growers are united in defending their interests, in particular recognition of the value of the vineyard, from which the sector has for decades simply sought volume and homogeneity. Now it is the other way round and it is being recognised again that not all vineyards are the same and not all the grapes are the same quality. The market is prepared to pay for that quality and any increase in price must reflect back on the vineyards, as currently they are no more than covering costs.

Grupo Estévez has launched a new table wine, Ojo de Gallo, which is made from 100% Palomino grapes from vines of over 20 years of age in the firm’s 256 hectares of vineyard in the pago Macharnudo Alto. This new wine evokes the minerality which derives from the albariza soil of this iconic pago and has a decent level of acidity to carry it through. Fermented with selected local yeasts and aged six months in tank on its lees, it is a classic example of what Palomino can do. RRP @ 7€ in Spain.