Valdespino Moscatel Viejísimo Toneles

Valdespino is one of the oldest names in Jerez, with a winemaking line said to reach back to the 13th century, and now part of Grupo Estevez. This Moscatel Viejisimo Toneles draws from a solera with an average age of around eighty years, an exceptional stretch of oxidative ageing even by sherry standards. The criaderas and soleras method blends younger wine into progressively older casks, so each bottling carries a fraction of very aged wine while staying consistent year to year. Over such a long time in cask, slow contact with air converts the wine toward deep concentration: the colour darkens to mahogany, water evaporates through the wood to raise the extract, and the fruit turns from fresh grape toward dried fruit, citrus peel and nutty oxidative tones. Made from Moscatel rather than Pedro Ximenez, it keeps a lifted orange and floral character beneath the depth. The nose is raisin and orange marmalade over caramel and walnut, with a candied peel lift. The palate is sweet and viscous but carried by the wine's age and a savoury, slightly saline length. Serve cool in a small glass after a meal, with walnuts, dried fruit or a hard aged cheese.