Valdespino "Viejo CP" Palo Cortado Jerez

The wines that make up this Palo Cortado have an average age of more than 25 years. Originally, it was aged in Calle Ponce in the city of Jerez; hence the initials still printed on the label. During aging, the wine is refreshed with Fino Inocente and Amontillado Tío Diego, two other top bottlings in Valdespino’s portfolio. The end result is a wine that smells smoky and rich in caramelized flavor, but tastes dry to the bone; all those ripe flavors become the purest mineral impressions. A sense of chalky albariza soil floods the palate as the acidity tingles along the tongue, leading the way into a vertical wine, intense and vibrant. (10/2015)

The NV Palo Cortado Viejo C.P. produced from Palomino from the Macharnudo Alto is fed with specific casks of Fino Inocente and Amontillado Tio Diego. It was traditionally aged in the Calle Ponce (Ponce Street), and it has kept the C.P. initials since then. It’s not age-certified, but the average age of the bottled wine is 25 years. The color is old gold or light amber, and the nose hints at a relatively old wine, with plenty of lactic notes, sweet vanilla, iodine, bitter oranges and spices. The palate is clean and delineated, subtle and on the elegant side of Palo Cortado, ending very dry. (LG) (8/2013)

Nutty sweetness. Deep and savoury in its yeast and spice flavours. Beautifully bone dry (unlike some palo cortado). So much flavour and texture you want to chew it, finishing with a bitter-orange freshness. (JH) (4/2016)