Separated by 1000 miles, Jerez and Champagne share a tradition of biological aging and, in the best vineyard sites, profoundly chalky soils. In recent years, French winemakers have dabbled in Jerez, and more and more soleras are popping up in Champagne. Willy Perez’s foray into this cross-cultural ferment is El Corregidor, a wine that starts as a Vino de Pasto aged for 12 months under flor, then, following the méthode champenoise, it is bottled with a small addition of concentrated PX must and yeast drawn from the fermentation of the wine’s subsequent vintage. After three years of aging sur latte, El Corregidor is disgorged and released without a dosage.
