Retallo Blanco 2017 12%, Bodega Manuel Aragón

Appearance
Pale to mid strawy gold with golden reflections.
Nose

A very fresh, gently tangy and attractive balance of fruit and flor greets the nose, though if anything the fruit outweighs the flor, with notes of quince, apple, pear along with slightly floral hints of straw. There is a slight fresh air in the orchard sensation and then a note of weight and roundness comes through adding a more sophisticated touch.

Palate

Clean, light and fairly crisp yet decently balanced, very young and appley - I assume the malo-lactic was carried out. It still has a slight rawness but I suspect it will develop very well in a year or two, rounding itself off and showing more mature fruit: there are already encouraging signs on the nose. So it is a very decent wine with some character and potential.

Comments

This is a brand new wine from an old bodega located in Chiclana, in the production zone. It is also novel and pretty unusual. It is made by Chano Aragón from Pedro Ximénez grapes from a 1 hectare plot in the pago Cañadilla which has albariza soil and which is entered by the gateway on the label. The grapes are picked at normal ripeness, not super ripeness needed for sweet wines, and vinified dry. After fermentation the wine ages under flor for around six months till bottling en rama in March. Only a little over 1,000 bottles were produced and stoppered with a Diam cork. A "retallo" is a kind of wooden wedge used to locate barrels in a solera system. Frustratingly there is no sign of a vintage date, but this is the first release so it wasn´t a problem - this time.

Price

9.65 euros, Licores Corredera

29.6.18 VIII Edition of the Copa Jerez Begins; New White from Obregón

The Consejo Regulador has officially announced inscription dates for the Spanish round of the prestigious food and Sherry matching competition, which is open to applications at www.copajerez.com till the 1^st September. Teams of chef and sommelier will compete to represent Spain against the national winners of seven other countries in the international final which will take place in Jerez in 2019. The VII edition introduced the very successful Forum which included lectures, tastings and show cooking featuring some of the top names in the worlds of Sherry and gastronomy. This is an unmissable event.

Bodegas Manuel Obregón in Chiclana have launched a new and very interesting white wine. Named Retallo (meaning a wooden wedge used to mount barrels), it is made from 100% Pedro Ximénez grown in their own vineyards and harvested earlier than usual so as to produce a dry wine. It comes in at 12 % alcohol and is aged under flor before bottling en rama. Just over 1,000 bottles have been produced.