Valdespino "Deliciosa" Manzanilla Sanlucar de Barrameda

As Jerez history goes, Valdespino was in at the beginning. The current company dates back to 1875, but there are written records of winegrowing in 1264. The present owners, the Estévez Group, acquired it in 1999, working with technical director Eduardo Ojeda. Ojeda is a key figure in the new Sherry world, as one of the partners in Equipo Navazos, a small négociant business that has been influential in showing how shippers can identify special butts for bottling. Deliciosa has been a Valdespino brand for almost a century, but its quality has been boosted by the soleras of Sanlúcar bodega La Guita, which Estévez purchased in 2007. Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW: Very well-defined aromas: delicate and clean. Nice manzanilla style that is suave and open, with a lingering finish. Sarah Jane Evans MW: Typical apple and camomile aromas – charmingly floral and delicate. A manzanilla for the Spring Fair: a classically fresh drink with just a hint of saline bite. Delicate and finely balanced; the essence of a young manzanilla. Nick Room: Straight, pleasant, slightly high-toned, fruity nose supports the pale lemon, green-tinged colour. Some toasty notes on the palate and a good incisive fruit delivery. Powerful, overt statement for Sherry. Tight but long. (Panel Tasting) (10/2013)

Deliciosa grows at the Pago Miraflores in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and it’s typically aged for five years under flor. This lastest saca shows a lovely mix of almond flavors, salt and white fruit, all melding into the wine’s deep mineral notes. It’s substantial enough to serve in the company of blackened redfish. (8/2018)

The impressive line-up is opened with the pale-colored NV Manzanilla Deliciosa, which is produced with Palomino grapes from the Miraflores vineyard and aged for five years under yeast. It is a finer version of La Guita, easy to drink, with a sweet note of apples in the nose, a polished and gentle palate, ending with a saline touch. I’ve often called Valdespino “the Romanee-Conti of Jerez.” Well, there, I’ve said it. To me they represent quality and tradition at the very top of the Sherry hierarchy. (LG) (8/2013)