Tuesday 18 July 2017

Las Mercedes 2016 13%, Viña Callejuela

Appearance
Lemony straw with golden reflections.
Nose
Very clean and fresh with up front flor not quite obscuring tangy Palomino fruit notes of apple and apricot, with floral hints like camomile and the smell of a wild meadow. There is an attractive though unexpected Riesling note but that gentle flor and a maritime trace bring us back to reality.
Palate
Super fresh and open with lots of fruit for a Palomino - but that is tempered by traces of minerality and bitterness from the flor which substitute for the lowish level of acidity. The wine is really young still but absolutely delicious now - and very moreish - it is beautifully made and leaves a long clean finish. It is a little darker in colour than Hacienda and bigger and softer with a touch more flor.
Comments
One of the three single vineyard wines launched recently by Viña Callejuela, this 100% Palomino Fino wine comes from the 8.5 hectare Las Mercedes vineyard on pure albariza soil at 83 metres above sea level in the Pago Añina, closer to Jerez than Sanlúcar. In the tradition of the Vinos Blancos de Sanlúcar, it is unfortified and sold young with a little flor influence, making for delicious and versatile table wine. Like its sister wines, La Choza and Hacienda Doña Francisca (QV), it is made from hand-picked grapes and is fermented in and spends 7 months in used Manzanilla butts under flor and bottled in the spring following the vintage. The only difference between the 3 wines is the vineyard they come from, and the idea is to show the different vineyard characteristics using Palomino as a medium, and it really works; the three wines are very different. Fewer than 1,000 bottles.
Price
12.50 euros, Licores Corredera


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