Saca de August 2022. This stunning Fino comes from the Macharnudo Alto (the ‘Grand Cru’ parcel within Jerez’s legendary Macharnudo vineyard) and was drawn from Valdespino’s Inocente solera. This will need no introduction to Navazos fans, as it is the same solera and single vineyard that brought you the fabled La Bota numbers 2, 7, 15, 18, 27, 35, 54, 68 and 91.
Of course, this is a single vineyard wine (extremely rare in the world of Fino these days) from one of the four great pagos that lie to the north and west of Jerez. Dubbed the ‘Montrachet of Jerez’, the albariza chalk here—called Tosca de Barajuelas—results in low yields of thick-skinned grapes and a particularly fine, chalky, saline and structured Palomino. Macharnudo Alto is the most celebrated part of the vineyard, the parcel with the highest altitude and the one considered to have the purest albariza soils.
This time around, it’s a selection from the solera: the oldest casks for complexity; and the second criadera for freshness. This bottling was also blended with some younger criaderas from the Macharnudo Alto estate. Eduardo Ojeda (the Master) explains, “We are looking for particular finesse and freshness in this saca. The wine is now more fluid and fresher than in previous editions, without in any case losing its authenticity.” Its average age is close to eight years, so a couple of years less than the previous bottlings.
Food? Oysters, olives, anchovies, salted almonds, whitebait, charcuterie, school prawns, hard cheese, etc. In fact, drink it with whatever you like but with the aforementioned foods you will be in heaven!