2024, Macharnudo San Cayetano de la Riva, JEREZ, SPAIN

100% Palomino Fino

Ramiro Ibanez and Willy Pérez are a talented duo producing one of the region's great white wines. Macharnudo San Cayetano 2024 has limestone and mineral notes. Freshness, concentration and salinity make this a vibrant wine.

Hold on to your hats, this is grippy, slim, intense, a slow burn white that reminds you just how brilliant the Palomino grape can be. Gunsmoke reduction on the opening, juicy and fleshy but so understated, soy, sea spray, white pear, grilled almonds, with a touch of Xeres tang. Limestone soils, 3.35ha, harvest August 30, fermented in 615l sherry butts, no temperature control, one year of flor ageing. From the brilliant De La Riva winery, with owners and winemakers Willy Perez and Ramiro Ibanez. 2025-2032.
96 Jane Anson.

Iodine and saltiness on the nose, really smells of the ocean - like an oyster shack with orange and lemon scents alongside white pepper and pears. Wild herbal elements with brisk acidity and a deep salty core - olive tapenade and lots of toasted nuts. Quite a singular style with some smoky reduction and a minerality that just lasts and lasts. 2025 - 2034.
95 Georgina Hindle, Decanter.