Valdespino Manzanilla La Especial 2016

Valdespino, a historic Jerez house, make Manzanilla La Especial in Sanlúcar de Barrameda from Palomino Fino grown on chalk-white albariza. This is a vintage wine, here from 2016, aged by static rather than solera ageing, an unusual method in Jerez. Instead of fractional blending through criaderas and soleras, each vintage rests in its own cask so that the character of a single harvest comes through. Manzanilla is aged in Sanlúcar, on the Atlantic coast, where humid sea air keeps the veil of flor thick and active. The wine spends eight years under this living layer of flor yeast, which feeds on alcohol and glycerine and seals the surface from air, keeping the wine pale, bone dry and saline rather than oxidised, while the breakdown of spent yeast adds a bready depth. The colour is pale gold. The nose shows chamomile, almond and freshly baked bread, with a clear briny edge. The palate is dry, fine and crisp, with a salty tang and a long, fresh finish. Serve well chilled in a white-wine glass as an aperitif. It suits olives, fried fish and shellfish.