The second of these wines that I have had in the last few weeks after cracking open a bottle of the Lumière at a dinner party recently and this as a sundowner – on both occasions to much acclaim.

They are both old vine palominos from Muchada Leclapart, the joint venture between Alejandro Muchada and David Leclapart in Sanlucar. There is no doubt about the brand power of the Leclapart name – one of the real artists of the new champagne – and the philosophy of the bodega in Sanlucar seems similarly terroir and vine driven.

To the surprise of some, these wines have no bubbles (although there are or have been some sparklers amongst the range). Rather, they are pure palomino (and in one case moscatel) wines and very fine ones too. Nice noses – white fruit and chamomile – they are fine and soft upfront, relatively lush and fruitful on the palate and fresh on the finish. They didn’t strike me as intense or expansive – maybe the Lumière came across as a little drier, the Étoile with more fruit – but both were beautifully made, approachable wines with a very nice profile, the kind of wines you don’t have to be a sherry lover to embrace.

Sophisticated sipping indeed!