Bodegas Luis Pérez "El Muelle de Olaso" 2022

Bright golden with aromas of apple, pear, stone fruit and hints of petrol. Medium-bodied, structured and intense on the palate, with a long saline finish. Fresh, vibrant and energetic. If you're a fan of unfortified Palomino, don't miss out on this.

El Muelle is a delicious, unfortified Palomino made by Willy Pérez, who started his winery (named after his father Luis) in Andalucia in 2002, with the intention of making unfortified wines in the Sherry region. All work is done by hand. Harvest consists of many passes through the vineyard starting in August through September to pick grapes and different stages of ripeness. Harvested at night to preserve freshness and prevent oxidation.

Pérez is using old botas (VERY large barrels) for aging, but not former sherry barrels, as is common in the area. For this wine, he does allow a small amount of flor, for a maximum of three months, as the layer of yeast that forms on top of a partially filled barrel will eat away at some of the glycerin in the wine, making the wine fresher and leaner.

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.

"El Muelle de Olaso" is a wharf along the beach in Sanlucar where Luis Perez Sr. used to play when he was a kid. Today it is a famous area for seaside restaurants.