Ximénez-Spínola Exceptional Harvest 2024

Ximénez-Spínola Exceptional Harvest is an unusual dry white from Jerez, made entirely from Pedro Ximénez, a grape normally used for the region's dark, sweet wines. The fruit is picked a few weeks after the harvest for the winery's sweet PX, so it comes in very ripe and concentrated. Rather than drying the grapes for sweetness, the must is fermented in stainless steel with its skins, which adds colour, phenolics and texture from that skin contact, then moved to American oak barrels and aged four months on the lees. The combination of skin fermentation, barrel and lees gives a dense, textured dry wine with a golden colour rare for a young white and a savoury, faintly oxidative depth from the oak and time on the yeast. The nose shows orange peel and honey with almond, beeswax and dried apricot, framed by the American oak. The palate is broad and weighty for a dry white, the ripe fruit balanced by a firm, nutty, savoury finish. Serve at 10 to 12 degrees in a white wine glass, ideally with food. It suits richer white fish, roast chicken, pork and hard, nutty cheeses.