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Valdespino "Inocente" Fino Jerez

Valdespino "Inocente" Fino Jerez

97DC
95W&S
94RP
92JS
92WS

97

Decanter

Review Date: 06/2026
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This, only the second Fino to win its way through to our Best In Show selection, is (like the first laureate back in 2017) an older or Pasado style of Fino. You'll see this instantly in its deep golden colour, and smell it, too, in the broad, complex, savoury-coastal tang of its aromas. Yes, there is yeasty flor present, but there is much else too: seaweed and marsh plants, balsam, dried lemon peel, coffee and (according to one judge) ship's varnish. ‘The palate is big, bold and earthy,’ wrote that same judge, ‘with layers of beeswax, yogurt, galangal and nuts. Very very long and very satisfying.’ Don't look to this wine for the chilled crispness and freshness of classic young Fino with ample bready flor; instead prepare for a journey into the warm heartland of the style with this statuesque, resonant and gratifyingly challenging aged example. *Platinum Medal - 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards*

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Price: $27.99
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Redwood City2

Professional Reviews

95

Wine & Spirits

Review Date: 08/2018
Inocente is Valdespino’s flagship, a wine from the Macharnudo Alto vineyard, where the soil is pure white albariza. It ferments in 600-liter wooden casks without added yeasts, a practice that has become increasingly rare in Jerez. The intensity of the wine’s salinity is remarkable—iodine and salt—coming together with ripe white fruit, scents of nuts and exotic spices. The structure is dry and austere, like drinking the juice of stones. This will last for a decade in the cellar, but it’s impossible to hold onto a bottle if there’s raw seafood nearby.

94

Wine Advocate

Review Date: 12/2017
As with many other wines from the José Estévez group, there is a special bottling of Valdespino's flagship NV Fino Inocente in magnum, but in this case they have kept the bottles for six months as the wine is from the saca otoño 2016, the autumn bottling from 2016. So the wine is offered with some extra bottle age. It has all that you expect from Inocente, a long aging wine fermented in bota from grapes grown exclusively in the Macharnudo Alto vineyard and bottled with an average age of ten years. All the textbook aromas and flavors are there, coupled with the elegance and mineral intensity the Macharnudo white chalky soils provide. Customers who purchase one of these scarce magnums probably know Inocente already. This will have a longer development in bottle. (LG) 94+

92

James Suckling

Review Date: 12/2020
A complex, fresh Fino that has aromas of dried wood, hazelnuts, apples and smoked nuts. The palate offers a smoothly rendered, fresh and seamless delivery of savory, creamy style. Finishes fresh.
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Notes

Arguably our best and most serious Fino, Valdespino is unique in that they still ferment their Finos in older oak barrels, not in stainless steel. This special Fino hails from the Macharnudo Alta vineyard, rated the best in all of Jerez for the quality of its albariza (chalk) vineyards. As an aside, Equipo Navazos Fino is sourced from Valdespino, proof of the terrific quality of their soleras. The quality of this wine for the price is simply incredible, and it should drink well for many years to be sure.

Product Details

Origin: Sherry, Spain

Type/Varietal: Other White Wines

Alcohol Content: 15%

SKU: #1123967

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