Saca of June 2006
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
15% alc.
Limited release: 800 bottles (75 cl.)
Bodega: Valdespino, Jerez de la Frontera
The second selection was an unshaven fino from Bodegas Valdespino, the only house in Jerez that still today lets its finos ferment following a traditional practice: in the butts where they are to remain afterwards to complete the biological ageing process under the veil of flor. Sourced from nine different butts carefully selected from among the oldest fino solera available in the cellars, La Bota de Fino nº 2 is also a terroir wine, since its scales are refilled exclusively with musts from the Macharnudo Alto vineyard, a truly privileged terroir to the north of Jerez, in the best area of the mythical Pago Macharnudo, that has belonged to Valdespino for centuries.
This is a wine for connoisseurs, bottled unfiltered in order to preserve its racy character, hence its color, the one an old fino should have: deep yellow with golden and greenish hues. It can be enjoyed upon release, merely hours after abandoning the butts it has inhabited for an average of ten years. However, its evolution in bottle will continue to delight consumers for quite a while, provided it is carefully stored. After a few years it will reward decanting in order to eliminate reductive notes.
These ‘finished’ finos and manzanillas are racy and powerful, and they rank among the most versatile wines on the table, suited to some glorious pairings: thin slices of jamón de bellota, croquetas de puchero, fresh Galician oysters on the half, etc.
It performs best if served in white wine stemware (by all means avoid the copita), at temperatures ranging from 9/10º C, where it shows a lighter and fresher profile, to 14/15º C, where it fully displays its complex and rich aromatic range.
Like the opening edition of ‘La Bota de’, the 800 bottles of this saca were destined to private cellars.