Valdespino "Viejo CP" Palo Cortado Sherry, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Jerez, Spain NV

FROM RARE WINE CO.

THE WINE: Barrels with weak or no flor are culled from the Inoncente and Tio Diego soleras to produce the marvelous Palo Cortado “CP.” The “CP” refers to the original location of the solera on Calle Ponce. With an average age of about 25 years, it distills many of the qualities of the two previous wines into a stunning Palo Cortado Peter Liem calls “rich, densely aromatic.”

THE PRODUCER: In a region devoted to tradition, there is no more traditional bodega than Sherry’s most historic house, Valdespino.

Its earliest records date to the 14^th century, but its origins are thought to date back to 1264, when the conquering knight Alonso Valdespino was rewarded with thirty hectares of land, including almost half of Jerez’s greatest vineyard terroir, Macharnudo.

It is Macharnudo that makes Valdespino the envy of every other sherry producer, and it is the source of most of its best wines. But it is Valdespino’s unwavering commitment to the demands and expense of traditional Jerez winemaking that makes its Sherries arguably the region’s purest and most intense. So extraordinary is the quality of Valdespino’s Sherries, and so profound their connection to terroir and tradition, that the house has been called “the Romanée-Conti of Jerez” by today’s most influential voice for Spanish wine, Luis Gutiérrez.

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