La Barajuela Dos Palmas Carrascal Alto 2017

Bodegas Luis Perez is part of the new wave in the Marco de Jerez that treats Sherry as a vineyard wine first, bottling single estates and single vintages rather than the usual solera blend. La Barajuela Dos Palmas comes from the Carrascal Alto vineyard, one of the high pagos of albariza chalk above Jerez, where the white limestone soils store winter rain and reflect sunlight to ripen Palomino slowly through the dry summer. This 2017 was aged for eight years under a veil of flor, the living cap of yeast that grows on the surface of the wine in cask, feeding on alcohol and shielding it from oxygen. Because it is a single vintage rather than a fractional solera blend, it shows the character of one harvest and one site, and the long flor ageing has carried it towards a pasada style, where the veil thins and a faint nutty oxidation begins to show alongside the saline freshness. The colour is pale gold. The nose is saline and delicate, with almond, dried herbs and chamomile over a yeasty base. The palate is dry, sharp and savoury, with great length. Serve chilled at around 9 to 11 degrees in a white wine glass.