San Cayetano 2022 (M. Ant. De La Riva)
A milestone for De La Riva and (hopefully) for Vino de Pasto as a whole
San Cayetano has really been a milestone wine for M.Ant. De La Riva. It was the first wine ever from Jerez to feature in the Place de Bordeaux. This is an 800 year-old prestigious marketplace where high-end (French) wines are sold via négociants. Telmo Rodriguez was the first Spanish winemaker to be included in this platform, and now Ramiro Ibáñez and Willy Pérez join him.
The first wine from Jerez at the Place de Bordeaux
Despite being a rather traditional platform, the wine was very well received and was even called one of the most exciting wines at La Place. This approach should help Vino de Pasto to distantiate itself further from the classic sherry wines and get recognition on its own merits. Suddenly De La Riva bottles were listed at prestigious retailers around the world.
This wine comes from a 35 year-old plot of Palomino in Macharnudo, named San Cayetano. It is quite a big vineyard with the characteristic albariza de barajuelas soils. For this wine they’re relying on the north-facing side of the plot, which results in a lot of freshness. Grapes are briefly sunbathed, pressed with minimal pressure, fermented in old sherry casks and then aged for around twelve months under a veil of flor.
The shorter ageing under flor and the different slope should make it quite different from the standard Macharnudo Vino de Pasto in their range. To better make the distinction, the regular Macharnudo will now also include the name of the plot, El Notario.
San Cayetano – ‘La Riva’ Macharnudo 2022 (13,5%, M.Ant. De La Riva 2023, 6000 btl.)
Nose: a platter of fresh clams or oyster shells at first. Then almond and dried wildflowers, crushed chalk and whiffs of walnut shells. Only a gentle hint of flor, hay and light olive brine. After a while it becomes rounder, with a warm fruitiness that grows stronger. Quinces, white peach and lime. A nice hint of wax too.
Mouth: quite round and full now, with more lime, unripe peach and quince. Then a nice saline layer comes out (sea spray), making your mouth water. Green olive and salted almond. Something of unsweet honey as well, if that makes sense. Very refined, and despite the relatively modest acidity it is still vibrant. There are also some powdery limestone hints, so it’s a wonderful combination of juicy elements and chalky dryness. Very long finish.
Availability: the Place de Bordeaux platform means this can pop up in lots of places that usually don’t sell Vino de Pasto or other wines from Jerez. Around € 75. I believe the 2013 vintage is out as well.
Summary: Tasty minerality, combined with bright fruity notes, some floral hints and a lot of finesse throughout. Quite round for a Vino de Pasto, but also really vibrant and focused. This is suggested as a cellaring wine. I think that makes sense, but it's already a super tasty wine right now.
4.5
Excellent
About the Author
Ruben is a Certified Sherry Educator who fell in love with sherry some 25 years ago, but switched to a higher gear in 2013 and started writing about it. Lived in Madrid for a couple of years, now back in Belgium. I also run a whisky blog over at www.whiskynotes.be
Related Posts
Viña Macharnudo Alto Barrel Fermented 2023 (Valdespino) →
Caserío de Miraflores Alta (Cota 45) →
Ximénez Spínola Delicado 2022 →
