Sweet sherry

It is a rare product, practically limited to Cordoba’s southern towns, made from the Pedro Ximénez variety grape, from which it takes its name. A fact that affords greater exclusivity is producing organically cultivated grapes in the higher zone of the Montilla mountain range, in Hacienda Bolonia.

At the end of August and during the month of September the grape harvest takes place, and we carry it out cutting the clusters by hand, when they reach the 13.5 degrees Baumé. These are placed in boxes to avoid breaking the grapes and ensure they arrive at the pasera or open air terrain in perfect conditions, where the intense summer sun and the successive turning of the clusters will take charge of completing the process of the drying or pasificación of the grape until achieving 25 degrees Baumé, concentrating all of its components and aromas. This is also the reason the resulting wine is referred to as the wine of the sun.

With the optimum drying conditions reached, the clusters are again placed in boxes and taken to the winery where they are ground and pressed, with the resulting paste finally being placed in layers between wicker discs. The drops of grape or raisin juice flow through the outside of the discs like authentic grape honey.

The yield of raisin grape juice is very low. So much so that, if with 100kg of fresh grapes we obtain some 70 litres of grape juice, for the same quantity of dried grapes around 30 litres of raisin juice is obtained. This juice is transferred to stainless steel tanks where alcohol originating from wine is added until it reaches 15º by volume, to then be put in large American oak barrels where it will begin its stage of ageing through the system of criaderas (sherry wine nurseries) and soleras (vintages).

Mención Especial Diputación de Córdoba, máximo galardón del Concurso Internacional de Vinos Ecológicos Ecoracimo 2017.