Valdespino Jerez-Xérès-Sherry - Palo Cortado Viejo C.P. Single Vineyard Macharnudo alto 20 years

In a region devoted to tradition, there is no more traditional bodega than Sherry’s most historic house, Valdespino.

Its earliest records date to the 14th century, but its origins are thought to date back to 1264, when the conquering knight Alonso Valdespino was rewarded with thirty hectares of land, including almost half of Jerez’s greatest vineyard terroir, Macharnudo.

It is Macharnudo that makes Valdespino the envy of every other sherry producer, and it is the source of most of its best wines. But it is Valdespino’s unwavering commitment to the demands and expense of traditional Jerez winemaking that makes its Sherries arguably the region’s purest and most intense. So extraordinary is the quality of Valdespino’s Sherries, and so profound their connection to terroir and tradition, that the house has been called “the Romanée-Conti of Jerez” by today’s most influential voice for Spanish wine, Luis Gutiérrez. 

Valdespino’s commitment to uncompromising quality became even greater with the estate’s 1999 purchase by Grupo Estevez. Regarding Valdespino as the crown jewel in its Sherry business, the company have dipped into their deep capital reserves to strengthen the house’s old-school approach and to restore its vast stocks of old wine.

Estevez hired renowned winemaker Eduardo Ojeda to be Valdespino’s technical director. The house’s ancient bodegas were so deteriorated they were deemed unsalvageable, and Eduardo’s first task was to move the entire 25,000-barrel solera to new facilities on the north end of Jerez.

Eduardo is a great believer that the soul of a Sherry comes from the biological memory of its barrels, and he took more than three years to complete the task. To preserve the identity of the great Valdespino soleras, a team of ten coopers restored each barrel. This staunch adherence to Sherry’s ancient traditions helps explain why Valdespino is today the standard-bearer for Sherry’s potential for greatness.

“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.” - 96 Points, Wine & Spirits

"The NV Palo Cortado Viejo C.P. produced from Palomino from the Macharnudo Alto is feed with specific casks of Fino Inocente and Amontillado Tio Diego. It was traditionally aged in the Calle Ponce (Ponce Street), and if 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.” - 93 Points, Wine Advocate

Producer: Valdespino

Country: Spain

Region: Andalucía

Varietal: Palomino Fino

Appellation: Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

Vintage: NV

Size: 500ml