Raúl Moreno La Pretensión 2024

Raúl Moreno makes La Pretensión in El Puerto de Santa María, one of the three towns of the Marco de Jerez in Andalusia. It is an unusual wine: a dry, unfortified Moscatel de Alejandría, a grape almost always used for sweet wine, aged in old cognac barrels under flor. Moscatel brings a naturally aromatic, floral and grapey character, while nine months under the flor, the film of living yeast that forms on partly filled casks, reworks that fruit into something drier and more savoury. The yeast consumes oxygen and glycerol, protecting the wine from oxidation and layering in a saline, nutty and slightly waxy note over the perfume. Farming is natural and organic, and the albariza soils and coastal climate keep the wine fresh at 12.5 per cent. The colour is pale gold. The nose is floral and citrus-led, with orange peel, white flowers and apricot over a saline, yeasty depth. The palate is dry and textured, the aromatic fruit tightened by salinity, an almond edge and a mineral finish. Serve chilled at 10 to 12 degrees in a white glass.