Gómez Nevado "Sierra Morena Pálido" Andalucia, Spain NV

FROM JOSE PASTOR:

THE WINE: Gómez Nevado still use the traditional names of their wines; thus Pálido literally means “Pale”, and can be described as their “Fino-style” wine. This cuvee comes from their estate-owned certified organic vineyards (please see the last paragraph in the bio above for production methods). Made up of 40% Pedro Ximénez, 40% Palomino, and 20% Aris, this wine is unfortified, with a natural alcohol of 15%, and spends an average of 5 years in a solera.

THE PRODUCER: Winegrowing at the family estate Bodegas Gómez Nevado dates back to the 1700’s, with the bodega established in its current incarnation since 1870. Today, patriarch Gabriel Gómez and his daughter Carmen oversee the bodega and its certified organic vineyards. Remarkably, Gómez Nevado was the first winegrower in Spain to have their vineyards certified organic, back in 1988. The wines are made in the Jerez style using a solera system, with a combination of biological aging under flor and a further oxidative aging for the Dorado wines. Gómez Nevado’s work is centered around their town of Villaviciosa in the Sierra Morena mountain range, an hour’s drive north of the great city of Córdoba. This remote area is very much rooted in viticulture, with 200 hectares of vineyard land being worked here. Technically, this is Andalucía, where Palomino and Pedro Ximénez dominate the viticultural landscape, but in the Sierra Morena, with its unique combination of higher altitude and clay and slate soils Arís, (Aíren), is the predominate grape variety.