Luis Perez El Muelle de Olaso Blanco VdT Cadiz 2023 750ml

Luis Perez El Muelle de Olaso Blanco VdT Cadiz 2023 750ml

Willy Pérez is one of the most exciting winemakers working in the Sherry region today — and El Muelle de Olaso is the wine that proves it. Made from 100% Palomino Fino sourced from 40- to 50-year-old vines on the legendary albariza marl soils of Macharnudo and Carrascal, this is a Vino de Pasto in the old tradition: a dry, still table wine from Jerez that has nothing to do with Sherry and everything to do with terroir. Fermented mostly in stainless steel with a touch of bota aging and brief contact with flor, El Muelle is a wine of extraordinary finesse and minerality.

The 2023 vintage is a year of nuance and detail — less concentrated than 2022 but more balanced, with a fine thread of tension running through the palate and a long, clean, and deeply satisfying finish. This is Palomino as it was always meant to taste.

"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."

• Producer: Luis Pérez, Jerez, Cádiz, Spain
• Appellation: Vinos de la Tierra de Cádiz
• Grape: 100% Palomino Fino
• Vintage: 2023
• Vineyards: Macharnudo & Carrascal — 40–50 yr old vines on albariza marl
• Vinification: 80% stainless steel, 20% bota — brief flor contact — 6 months aging
• Tasting Notes: Dried pineapple, citrus, apple, light caramel, honey, cedar, chalky minerality, herbal tanginess, long clean finish
• Best Paired With: Grilled seafood, oysters, jamón ibérico, fried fish, or goat cheese

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2023 

James Suckling — 93 Points
Aromas of dried pineapple, apple and light caramel. Medium to full body. Light honey and cedar flavors. Made mostly in stainless with some natural fino in the blend. This is blended from two top vineyards of Jerez: Macharnudo and Carrascal.

Wine Advocate — 93 Points
The 2023 El Muelle de Olaso comes from a warm year but less warm than 2022 and more balanced. It was produced with Palomino grapes from 40- to 50-year-old vines on "barajuela" laminar albariza marl soils fermented mostly in stainless steel (80%) and only 20% in bota. It matured in stainless steel for six months. Pérez confessed that the wine has a little more Macharnudo wine this vintage. The wine is still a baby, primary and undeveloped but with a lot of finesse; it’s a year of less concentration, and it has nuance and detail, a fine thread and a long, clean and tasty finish.

A wine that rewrites what Palomino can be — El Muelle de Olaso is essential drinking for anyone who loves mineral-driven whites with soul.