Lustau Amontillado Escuadrilla

Bodegas Lustau is one of the most respected houses in the Marco de Jerez, and Escuadrilla is its dry Amontillado, made from Palomino grown on the albariza chalk soils around Jerez. The white limestone holds winter moisture and reflects sunlight to ripen the fruit evenly through the hot, dry summer. This wine is aged in two stages, which is what defines an Amontillado. It begins under a cap of flor yeast, a living veil that seals the wine from oxygen and gives a fresh, saline edge, and then continues oxidatively once the flor has gone, fortified to support this air exposure. The wine moves through the criaderas and soleras system, where younger wine is fractionally blended through older stages, so each bottle carries the average age of the solera and a consistent house style. The slow oxidative phase converts ethanol to acetaldehyde and concentrates the wine through evaporation, building its colour and nutty depth. The colour is amber. The nose is dry and complex, with hazelnut, almond and dried fruit over a faint saline note. The palate is dry and smooth, carried by a long finish. Serve at around 13 to 14 degrees in a white wine glass, with poultry, mushrooms or hard cheese.