Tuesday 4 February 2014

Fino La Ina 15%, Lustau

Appearance
Bright pale lemony straw, some legs.
Nose
Fresh with floral - camomile notes, salted unpeeled almonds a trace of membrillo (quince) fruit and a little bitter flor, quite soft sophisticated and elegant. There's a trace of dry scrub in the background, but this is beautifully complex and balanced.
Palate
Good and dry, the flor is a little more obvious here, with some bitterness and a gentle tang, but it is still very smooth with a deliciously bitter finish balancing with that trace of almond and membrillo. Delicious.
Comments
Made from 100% Macharnudo grapes, and from a 1919 solera of some 4,200 butts, this was the flagship fino from Pedro Domecq. After the dismembering of Domecq by Pernod Ricard, Lustau (Caballero) bought the La Ina range of Sherries and their soleras in 2008. The wine is about six years old, and has never tasted better. The La Ina solera is still located in the old Domecq La Mezquita bodega, now owned by Beam Suntory, but the Lustau team are allowed to operate the solera there. The soleras of the other wines in the range were moved to Lustau's own bodegas.
Price
@£10-12 in the UK where it is distributed by Fields, Morris and Verdin.

No comments:

Post a Comment