# Fino Inocente Single Vineyard Pago de Macharnudo (NV)

- **Producer:** Bodegas Valdespino
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** fortified
- **Grapes:** Palomino Fino
- **Region:** Jerez, Spain
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 15.0%
- **Average price:** €20
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now
- **Serving temperature:** 6–9 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** apple, lemon, grapefruit, bread, biscuit, toast, cheese, almond, hazelnut, walnut, hay

## About this wine

Bodegas Valdespino is one of Jerez's oldest and most revered sherry houses, tracing its origins back to 1264 when knight Alfonso Valdespino was awarded land by King Alfonso X following the reconquest of Jerez. Fino Inocente is Valdespino's flagship Fino and stands as a benchmark for traditional winemaking in Andalucia. Sourced entirely from the prestigious Viña Inocente estate located in the high-altitude Pago de Macharnudo Alto, this cuvée reflects pure white Albariza soils rich in chalk, imparting unmatched minerality and longevity.

## Interesting facts

- It is the only Fino Sherry still fermented in traditional 500-liter American oak barrels using indigenous yeasts.
- Aged for an extraordinary 10 years under flor across 10 criaderas, well beyond the 3-year minimum requirement.
- Sourced exclusively from the historic single vineyard Viña Inocente within the Pago de Macharnudo Alto.

## Food pairing

The high salinity, sharp acidity, and autolytic bread dough characteristics of Fino Inocente cut through rich animal fats and complement raw, briny seafood, while creating a seamless match with cured, nutty Spanish delicacies.

## Wine making process

Inocente is crafted using uncommonly traditional methods. Free-run must from Palomino Fino grapes is fermented in 500-liter and 600-liter American oak butts using native wild yeasts rather than stainless steel tanks. Following fermentation and initial fortification to 15.0% ABV, the wine enters a complex Solera system consisting of 10 criaderas (scales). Aged biologically under a protective yeast layer (velo en flor) for an average of 10 years—far longer than standard Finos—it yields incredible autolytic depth and salinity before being bottled en rama.