Bodegas Valdespino (375 ml) 'Inocente' Fino, Estate Macharnudo Alto, Jerez-Xeres-Sherry DO

Bodegas Valdespino (375 ml) 'Inocente' Fino, Estate Macharnudo Alto, Jerez-Xeres-Sherry DO

Item Number: 6286

UPC: 8-412449102283

Country: Spain
Region: Andalucia
Sub Region: Cadiz
Appellation/AVA: Jerez-Xeres-Sherry DO
Estate Grown Wine: Yes
Vineyard Designation: Macharnudo
Grape(s): 100% Palomino
Type: Wine - Sherry, Madeira & Port
Bottle Size: 375 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Screw Cap
Alc by Vol(%): 15
Total Acidity: 3.5 g/L
Soil Type: Albariza, white color, clay texture and high in calcium carbonate

Vineyard Notes: Inocente Fino comes from Valdespino's estate Macharnudo Alto vineyard. The vines are 50 years old.
Type of Aging: Biological (under flor)
Number of Levels: 10 Criaderas and 1 Solera
Batches per Year: 2 (Autumn and Spring bottlings)
Average Age: 10 years old

Winemaking Notes: The wine ferments naturally in very old oak barrels. It remains in a sobretabla for 1 year fermenting to about 12% alcohol and forming the flor. Then, the wine is moved off its lees, fortified to 15%, and introduced to the first criadera (first level of the Inocente solera). The wine undergoes biological aging under a veil of flor (yeast) for 8 years. The Inocente solera has an average age of 10 years where as most fino sherries on the market have only 3 years of aging.

Tasting Notes: The Valdespino Inocente Fino is delicate and extremely complex. On the palate, the wine is both round with structure/volume and bright/fresh with salinity. It has a long and persistent mineral finish. Serve this chilled in a white wine glass as an aperitif or with seafood (shrimp, oysters, clams, grilled fish), smoked salmon, and Japanese cuisine. It is an ideal match for seafood because of its salinity and acidity. This is a sherry that can age in your cellar, only gaining in complexity and intensity over the years.

Valdespino 'Inocente' Fino featured in the New York Times.

Reviews

  • The Wine Spectator
    Rating: 92 (7/31/2013)
    High-pitched, featuring talc, chamomile, chalk and jicama notes, followed by a pure, stone-tinged finish. Very graceful, lacy and long.
  • The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 94 (8/29/2013)
    The NV Fino Inocente must be one of the few wines in Jerez that is still fermented in 600-liter American oak botas, which is an incredible amount of work compared with fermenting tens of thousands of kilos of grapes (or even more) in a big stainless steel tank. This method was the norm of yesteryear, but is so labor intense that it was discontinued in most wineries, and gives a big diversity of wines, as each barrel has its own character, which contributes to the complexity of the blend. Furthermore, the bottled wine is on average 8 to 10 years old. One other thing that makes it apart from other Finos is that the grapes are exclusively from the high part of the Macharnudo vineyard, so this is a single-vineyard Fino. The nose is very complex, showing the effect of the long lees contact: chalk, dried hay, aromatic herbs and salty almonds. The palate is full, but at the same time elegant and balanced, powerful and fine, with the texture of a Meursault rather than a Puligny. A very complex wine, that manages to be both powerful and elegant. Inocente is great value for money. Drink 2013-2016.
  • The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 94+ (12/29/2017)
    As with many other wines from the José Estévez group, there is a special bottling of Valdespino's flagship NV Fino Inocente in magnum. It has all that you expect from Inocente, a long aging wine fermented in bota from grapes grown exclusively in the Macharnudo Alto vineyard and bottled with an average age of ten years. All the textbook aromas and flavors are there, coupled with the elegance and mineral intensity the Macharnudo white chalky soils provide.