Ximénez-Spínola Fermentación Lenta 2018
£39.95 incl. VAT
3 in stock
Bright pale gold. Lifted nose of preserved lemon, quince, dried apricot, beeswax and toasted almond, with notes of fennel, chamomile, salted caramel and a subtle vanilla and toasted-oak frame. Full-bodied and textured on the palate, with concentrated stone-fruit intensity, a vivid saline mineral spine, fine phenolic grip and a long, savoury, slightly nutty finish. Drink now to 2030.
2018 Vintage — Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO, Spain
Bodegas Ximénez-Spínola is one of the smallest and most singular estates in the Jerez triangle — a family bodega in Sanlúcar de Barrameda that works exclusively with one variety, Pedro Ximénez. Where most of Jerez treats PX as a sweet, sun-dried, fortified style, Ximénez-Spínola has been pioneering a parallel range of unfortified, dry expressions from the same grape, including this ‘Fermentación Lenta’ — a single-vintage, varietal dry PX bottling fermented slowly in French oak.
100% Pedro Ximénez from estate-owned albariza-soil parcels. Late-harvested fruit is hand-picked and pressed to clean must, then transferred to French oak barrels for a deliberately slow, controlled fermentation — fresh must is added in 30-litre tranches over time to extend fermentation kinetics, then the wine is aged on lees for around 9 months with gentle bâtonnage. The result is a structured, complex, unfortified dry white that reveals the underrated still-wine character of Pedro Ximénez — a complete reframing of the variety.
