Agostado Palo Cortado 2022

The wine's story:

According to the producer, Agostado revives the origins of palo cortado and the old classification of vintages, when casks were marked with the signs palma, cortado and raya. The wine delves into the principles of the elegant oxidative wines of old. Our bottles are from the 2022 vintage; 1,700 bottles and 60 magnums were made.

Bodegas Ramiro Ibáñez (formerly Cota 45) is the Sanlúcar de Barrameda winery that Ramiro Ibáñez founded in 2012.

Winemaking:

According to the producer, the 2022 Agostado is 50% Perruno and 50% Uva Rey – old, almost vanished local grapes. According to the American wine shop Leon & Son, the Perruno comes from Trebujena and the Uva Rey from Arcos and Chiclana; the grapes are picked by hand in late September, pressed as whole bunches into two old 500-litre casks and fermented spontaneously without temperature control. The wine ages for about 26 months in cask, the last four months under flor, and is not fortified.

Tasting notes:

Textured and classically elegant. In Leon & Son's tasting note (JPS), Agostado is one of the most impressive unfortified wines, its appeal coming more from texture and classic elegance than from oxidative character; it should be very long-lived.

Food pairing:

Roasted almonds and aged cheeses – the nutty cortado suits salty snacks. Braised oxtail; mushroom risotto; duck breast.