Caberrubia Saca IX

Caberrubia Saca IX is a Fino-style fortified wine from Bodegas Luis Pérez, the Cádiz house founded by Luis Pérez Rodríguez, an oenology professor and former Domecq winemaker. The estate works the albariza chalk of the inland Cádiz countryside, the same white limestone soil that defines the great Jerez vineyards, holding winter rain deep down and reflecting the summer sun to ripen Palomino Fino without losing acidity. Released as a numbered saca, or drawing from the cask, this bottling carries three years under a veil of flor. During biological ageing the yeast film seals the wine from oxygen, keeps it pale and lends the fresh, saline, bready character of a Fino, while the slow life and death of the flor builds a mature, walnut-tinged complexity. At around 14.5 percent it sits a touch lighter than a fortified Jerez Fino. Expect a pale to golden colour, a nose of mature walnut, almond and yeast, and a dry, savoury, saline palate with notable depth. Serve well chilled at 8 to 10 degrees in a white-wine glass, freshly opened, as an aperitif or with seafood.