Luis Perez El Muelle de Olaso Blanco VdT Cadiz 2023 750ml

The claim that Palomino is a neutral-flavor grape is proven wrong with El Muelle – a wine with citrussy and tropical fruit flavors, lively chalky minerality, and a touch of herbal tanginess from its short contact with flor. Perhaps Palomino’s reputation could be re-evaluated if more growers in the region were trying as hard as Willy Peréz. Luckily, there’s a growing movement to rescue Vino de Pasto from the history books and re-enshrine it back into the DO.

Blend: 100% Palomino Fino 

Critic Notes

93 Pts James Suckling: Aromas of dried pineapple, apple and light caramel. Medium to full body. Light honey and cedar flavors. Made mostly in stainless with some natural fino in the blend. This is blended from two top vineyards of Jerez: Macharnudo and Carrascal.

93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 2023 El Muelle de Olaso comes from a warm year but less warm than 2022 and more balanced. It was produced with Palomino grapes from 40- to 50-year-old vines on "barajuela" laminar albariza marl soils fermented mostly in stainless steel (80%) and only 20% in bota. It matured in stainless steel for six months. Pérez confessed that the wine has a little more Macharnudo wine this vintage (and in 2024, it will represent 75% of the wine). The wine is still a baby, primary and undeveloped but with a lot of finesse; it's a year of less concentration, and it has nuance and detail, a fine thread and a long, clean and tasty finish.