5 Solera Area 2
Oxidative ageing
AUDIO GUIDE
If the base wine is matured up to 17º, the flor layer is not produced, so that the ageing process takes place in contact with the air, which favours the slow action of the oxygen in the wine. This ageing process is called oxidative ageing. Examples of wine with oxidative ageing are the oloroso wines, such as Oloroso Tío Alejandro or Oloroso Muy Viejo Manuel Aragón.
Some wines combine an initial biological ageing process with a subsequent oxidative ageing process, such as the Amontillado El Neto or Amontillado Muy Viejo Manuel Aragón.
In this sense, the "palo cortado" type of wine is peculiar. When a wine is tasted in its initial phase and the oenologist considers that it should undergo a process of biological ageing, the butt is marked with a slanted line, a "palo". On the other hand, when the taster initially discovers a structure in a wine that suggests oxidative ageing, it is marked with a circle. Sometimes, a wine aged under flor subsequently shows the taster specific properties that recommend oxidative ageing. In this case, the alcohol content is raised to 17º and the "palo" is crossed with another one. Thus, we have a "palo cortado" wine, such as the Palo Cortado Muy Viejo Manuel Aragón, an extraordinary limited edition dry wine.
Some wines are produced with a single grape variety, but others are obtained by blending or cabeceo (topping off) of different wines, for example, oloroso wines with a part of Pedro Ximénez, such as the Cream Arrumbaó, or Hoyo Membrillo, two excellent wines with great character and full body from Bodega Manuel Aragón.
In wines made from Muscatel or Pedro Ximénez grapes (with grapes of this denomination), the fruit is over-ripe (on the vine or by exposure to the sun or drying it in the sun), which concentrates both the sugars and the natural acidity of the grape. On the other hand, fermentation is only partially carried out by the addition of alcohol in the process. This is the case of Moscatel Gloria, Moscatel Los Cuatro, and Pedro Ximénez Muy Viejo Manuel Aragón.
