La Inglesa Solera Fina

La Inglesa, in the D.O. Montilla-Moriles in north-east Andalusia, make this Fino, here labelled Solera Fina, from Pedro Ximénez grown in Moriles Alto. Where most Fino ages in oak butts, this wine rests in concrete, an unusual choice that gives a neutral vessel and lets the flor and the fruit speak without oak influence. Fino is aged biologically under a veil of flor, a living layer of yeast that floats on the wine, feeding on alcohol and glycerine and sealing the surface from oxygen. That protection keeps the wine pale and bone dry rather than oxidised, while the autolysis of spent yeast adds a bready, savoury depth. This wine spends twelve years under flor through the criaderas and soleras system. The colour is pale. The nose is sharp and delicate, with almond, fresh bread dough and a wild herbal note. The palate is dry, light and crisp, with a saline tang and a clean finish. Serve well chilled in a white-wine glass as an aperitif. It pairs with olives, almonds, fried fish and shellfish.