Bodegas Valdespino Contrabandista Amontillado Blend Medium Dry Sherry

Pairs with: Creamy cheeses like Brie and Camembert, rich pâtés, foie gras, wild mushroom soup, or light desserts featuring brown butter or dark caramel

Good for: Introducing wine lovers to a gentler, softer side of historic Sherry, or serving as an incredibly sophisticated, off-dry nightcap with a plate of roasted nuts

Grape: 95% Palomino Fino (for the Amontillado base) and 5% Pedro Ximénez (PX) 

I am from: Jerez D.O., Andalusia, Spain (Sourced from the legendary, chalky Macharnudo vineyard zone)

The Story: Bodegas Valdespino is one of the oldest and most traditional names in Sherry history, tracing its lineage back to 1264. "Contrabandista" (The Smuggler) is a beautifully unique bottle classified as a Medium Dry Amontillado Blend. To create it, Valdespino starts with their exceptional, complex Tio Diego Amontillado—which ages for over 15 years, first under a living blanket of yeast (flor) and then oxidatively in oak casks. Before bottling, they blend in a tiny splash of rich, intensely sweet, young Pedro Ximénez wine. This intentional partnership balances out the sharp, bone-dry profile of traditional Amontillado, yielding a highly approachable, beautifully balanced "Medium" style.

Why You'll Love Me: It offers a magnificent, bittersweet synergy that feels warm, silky, and endlessly comforting. It pours a clean, beautiful dark amber color with golden highlights. On the nose, it hits you with an incredibly rich bouquet of toasted hazelnuts, milk chocolate, and burnt honey, layered with deep, jammy notes of prunes, figs, and old wood. Thanks to its modest residual sugar, it is off-dry rather than sticky-sweet; the entry is soft and velvety, but it is immediately met by a firm, salty, and oak-driven dry spine. It leaves you with a thoroughly complex finish of dark cocoa, orange peel, and a distinct, appetizingly savory crunch.