Staff Pick

Valdespino, Amontillado "Tio Diego" Sherry

Name: Valdespino, Amontillado "Tio Diego" Sherry
Brand: Valdespino
SKU: 27733
Price: 28.99 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

Item # 27733 750 mL

A Dry, rich, complex Amontillado that boasts of dried mixed fruits and coffee tinged hazelnuts. Intense notes of distinct baked pastry and tea, warm sand and roasted nuts are unmissable. Wonderful for all Sherry lovers, with its bold structure, enjoy with glazed poultry and almonds, sausage and dates or on its own. Valdespino boasts over six centuries of Sherry making experrience.

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Color

White

Country

Spain

Region

Jerez

Sub-Region

Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Producer

Valdespino

Grape Variety

Palomino

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Staff Pick Notes

Man, Sherry's a fun category. To the uninitiated, the various incarnations and producers can seem downright esoteric. Allow me to dim the noise around you and direct your focus to a venerable firm that stands apart from the rest. Incredibly, Valdespino is the only sherry producer who still ferment their base wines in barrel. Their fino sherries are unusually complex, spending an impressive ten years aging under flor. The Tio Diego Amontillado lives as a fino for eight years before entering into an oxidative state for the final stretch. The result is an Amontillado of astounding elegance interlaid with nutty richness.

- JAM

About the Producer

Jerez, Spain The origins of this historic bodega date back to 1264 when Don Alfonso Valdespino was one of 24 Knights responsible for expelling the Moors from Jerez. As a reward for his efforts the king gave him land grants in the city of Jerez and thus began Bodegas Valdespino. The heart of Valdespino is its vineyards. They are the only sherry house to make single vineyard wines. The vineyard,...

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Glossary

Spain

Central to the Spanish winemaking philosophy is the belief that wine should be released only when it is ready to be consumed, and not a moment before. Spanish wine law focuses squarely on this issue: the terms Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva are highly regulated indicators of the amount of time a wine has aged prior to its release. In Rioja, Navarra, and the Ribera del Duero (which have the most stringent requirements) red Crianzas must be aged a minimum of two years; Reservas, at least three...

Jerez

Sherry actually gets its name from our anglo-inability to pronounce the word “Jerez,” the town at the southern end of Spain in which the wine is produced. Like Champagne, Sherry can only be called Sherry if it comes from this specific region. That said, there are other “Sherry-styled” wines worthy of note produced outside of the Sherry D.O. (known as vinos generosos). Montilla, lying to the north-east of Jerez, produces some of the finest Pedro Ximénez in the world.

Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Manzanilla refers to a Fino Sherry that comes from the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The proximity of the sea causes the flor to grow even thicker here, resulting in a very dry Sherry that has a distinctive briny, almost saline note. Manzanilla Sherry is light and refreshing - it spends an average of only three to five years in the solera. It should absolutely be consumed while young, within at most a year after its release. It works fantastically as an aperitif, as it pairs...

Read more about Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Amontillado

These Sherries begin life as Finos but lose their flor at some point along the way (usually around the seven year mark in the solera). As they are exposed to oxygen, Amontillados develop intense, nutty aromas and become richer in texture. They are almost always dry, though many possess a caramelized note that may be perceived as sweetness. These Sherries can last two to three weeks (in the refrigerator) after opening, but should still be consumed relatively young. Amontillados fall into the...

Palomino

Accounting for over 90% of the vine plantings in Jerez, this relatively neutral grape provides the ideal “blank canvas” for the creation of fabulously complex Sherries (much like the Ugni Blanc grape does in Cognac).

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