Lunch with new friends couldn’t have started better. “What kind of wine do you like?” I ask, and “Something different, terroir-driven and expressive” comes back the reply. Bingo, as they say. 

And it was a nice day for it too, because the lads at Territorio Era had just taken delivery of three wines with exactly those characteristics: the new vineyard specific wines from Callejuela. Three examples of 100% palomino fino from three different vineyards, located on three different pagos. 

Specifically, the wines in question are:

• Hacienda de Doña Francisca, a vineyard at an altitude of 62m on pago Callejuela (Sanlucar) – which must be one of the higher altitude Sanlucar vineyards, located to the North East of the town in an area influenced by the river;
• Las Mercedes, a vineyard at 83m on Pago Añina (Jerez), one of the more Atlantic-influenced Jerez pagos;  and 
• La Choza, a vineyard at 74m on the famous inland pago Macharnudo (Jerez). 

Just as they did the first time I tried them back in February, the three wines really did express their roots. The Callejuela wine, despite being a more river influenced pago and its altitude, was vertical and fresh, the Añina wine had more structure and body, and the Macharnudo had a really full flavoured profile. They are also very good in their own right. Young wines, but finer and more refined than a mere mosto and with nice acidity and salinity, which gives them a nice shape in general.

I also have to say that for a project aimed at educating in relation to terroir, the packaging is perfect: the labels are modern and informative, with the name of the vineyard, a profile of the slope (is it the actual profile? Seems steep), the altitude and even a photo of the vineyard. 

Good things come in threes indeed. Worth trying and I would recommend these to anyone wanting to learn about the wines of the region.