Inwood Estates 2005 Palomino-Chardonnay

This is a one-of-a-kind wine. There is no other way to say it. Palomino is one of the most widely planted white grapes in Spain where it is typically used for Sherry production, although it is also made into rather simple table wines that are rarely exported to the U.S. By contrast, this grape becomes a stellar wine variety in Texas where it gains a paradoxical combination of crisp minerality from Texas high mineral terroir and very uncommon intensity from low yields of less than one ton per acre. The French term "terroir", meaning the land or soil, but more widely known in the wine industry as the flavors conveyed from the soil and site elements to the wine, is critical in understanding our wines. In this case, it is important to note that there is a difference between acidity and minerality although it is often blurred by even the best wines and palates. It is this factor that makes this wine an anomaly in the wine world where it is widely believed that a great white wine cannot be made in a hot climate. That said, the dominant flavor is still the nectar-like varietal character of the Palomino which is mostly never before tasted anywhere. Even to describe the initial aromas as honey, vanilla, pear and melon still leaves out the exact factor unique to this fruit. The Chardonnay (30%) is there to add complexity but mainly reduce the thickness of the Palomino which might be interpreted as excessive in a market unaccumstomed to white wines this big and expansive.