This is another of the wines that has been languishing amongst the drafts since I had it – a good few weeks ago now. As you can see from the photo we had this at dinner and as such I don’t have very clear notes. Nevertheless, I have a pretty strong recollection of the basic facts.

Picture the scene. We are four enthusiasts in a place with an excellent wine list, but the sommelier is on holiday. We have had the waiters in all sorts of difficulty with our wine orders all dinner, and with a pretty meaty dish coming and none other than the Bota de Palo Cortado Nº34 listed – a perfect accompaniment you would say –  it was duly ordered. The unfortunate waiter then disappeared for a good few minutes and, having presumably searched fruitlessly high and low in the cellar, reappeared with a wine that, while it may be many things, is certainly not a palo cortado. In his defense, he did a great job of appearing unconcerned and giving the impression that all “Equipo Navazos” wines are more or less interchangeable.  Frankly it could have gone either way – you keep these lads waiting 10 minutes for a glass of wine at your peril, and bringing the wrong one after a wait like that is a risky strategy – but fortunately we were just consumed with mirth and had it anyway.

I am glad we did because it proved to be excellent. It was a little difficult at first: maybe it was a little cold and the profile came across as overbalanced with minerals or even oxidated. But even in the time it took us to finish (and there were four thirsty travellers involved so not long) it seemed to grow in stature and flavour, and by the end I finally began to see the comparison that gets made with the white burgundies – crisp, defined, solid flavours and a lovely finish . (This is in fact something I have noticed a couple of times with these palomino wines – they may just need a bit of time to breathe first up.)

One of the best palomino white wines I have had and these are definitely growing on me.