Valdespino Don Gonzalo Old Dry Oloroso VOS Jerez DO

Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO, Spain

Don Gonzalo is a Very Old Sherry (VOS — minimum 20 years of solera ageing) from Valdespino's oldest Oloroso solera. Amber-mahogany with an extraordinary nose of walnut oil, dried fig, leather, rancio, and sea-salt. The palate is bone-dry, concentrated, and complex — the oxidative ageing has produced a wine of profound depth and 45-second finish. Among the world's greatest aged fortified wine expressions.

Pairing intelligence

• cheese: Old Oloroso and aged hard cheese is the great Spanish digestif pairing — the wine's walnut and rancio notes mirror the cheese's crystalline nuttiness; quince sweetness provides relief
• main: Oloroso's concentrated depth and oxidative richness are calibrated for the gelatinous, wine-dark intensity of slow-braised oxtail — an Andalusian classic that reflects the wine's character