Wine of the week

The Pedro Ximénez variety is the protagonist in this vino de pasto from Montilla-Moriles.

Fresquito Vino de Pasto 2021 (Pérez Barquero)

D.O. Montilla-Moriles

Variety: 100% Pedro Ximénez

ABV: 14.5%

€14.75 from Bodeboca

The new wave of vino de pasto, the unfortified sherry wines from the Marco de Jerez, has justifiably attracted a lot of attention in Spain and beyond.

What is less well known is that vino de pasto wines are also made in the Montilla-Moriles DO, the protected appellation of origin in the province of Córdoba.

Pérez Barquero was the first bodega in the DO to recover this traditional wine style. The Fresquito Vino de Pasto, launched in 2022, is made from Pedro Ximénez grapes from some of the best pagos of albariza soils in the Sierra de Montilla y Moriles Altos.

The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks, then ages under flor in traditional concrete amphorae, known as conos or tinajas.

It’s then racked, in a humid area of the winery, into barrels that had previously contained fino wine with the cabezuelas, the fine deposits of flor yeasts that accumulate over time at the bottom of the barrels.

After 12 months of barrel ageing, the wine is given further time to rest and refine in the bottle. All of this creates a unique and quite complex wine.

The nose shows sweet ripe apple, with notes of brioche, almond and fennel. There’s volume and a broad mouthfeel, moderate acidity, and a saline and chalky mineral finish. When I came back to the opened bottle a day later, more pungent, fino-like flavours had emerged, and the flor influence was much more forward.

If you are curious about what else is happening with vino de pasto wines in Montilla-Moriles, check out Pérez Barquero’s Fresquito Vino de Tinaja and the 3 Miradas range of terroir-focused wines from Bodegas Alvear.