El Muella de Olaso comes from the El Corregidor estate vineyard, where Palomino Fino, Pedro Ximénez, Mantuo & Vijiriega are harvested at night to preserve freshness and prevent oxidation. It is made in the traditional 19th century Vino de Pasto style and sees only a few months of aging under flor. The claim that Palomino and PX are neutral-flavor grapes is proven wrong with El Muelle – a wine with citrussy and tropical fruit flavors, lively chalky minerality, and a touch of herbal tanginess from its short contact with flor. Perhaps Palomino’s reputation could be re-evaluated if more growers in the region were trying as hard as Willy Peréz. Luckily, there’s a growing movement to rescue Vino de Pasto from the history books and re-enshrine it back into the DO.
