'Añina el Caribe' 2016
$165.00 RRP
Oxidatively handled Palomino from a special Finca atop Pago Añina, growing in a mix of Tosca Cerrada and Barajuela. Willy bought the fruit for this one-off interpretation, which is a homage to his grandfather, who used to run the vineyard. This is one of many wines Willy has and will make (under BLP and MADLR labels) which are just for show, as he wants to express various places in various historical styles so the current generations can experience layers of lost history, but he’s not intent on keeping them all in the air as ongoing commercialised ‘portfolio lines’.
Fermented in 2 botas with just 15cm air ullage. Willy was looking to make Fino but a week of levante (strong hot winds and daytime temperatures over 45 celsius) pushed abv over 15% and the flor didn’t take. Bottled at 16% abv after 24 months (including fermentation), it’s utterly un-classifiable! - somewhere between an oxidative white and an Oloroso.
Straw and dried fruit, mandarin zest, a whack of complex volatile acidity, the smoke of a billy tea can, a whiff of orange and some caramel sweetness, salt-rimed, a neroli margarita. The palate of old grass, acacia honey, honeycomb casings and dried flowers has great brambly spice, delicate chalk and a whiff of camomile.