Notes from La Luz Selections:

"José “Pepe” Blanco and his brother Francisco “Paco” Blanco started the Callejuela winery with their father and “dos botas viejas” in the year 1980 within the family home in town, where their offices still remain.  They were OG Almacenistas making base wine from their own Palomino vineyards that they sold to the local bodegas of Sanlúcar.

Throughout decades, their father Francisco Blanco became a prominent local viticulturist who increased his hectares by slowly buying small parcels throughout the Marco de Jerez, all within three very important pagos:  Añina, Marcharnudo and Callejuela.

Las Mercedes is made from un-fortified Palomino must from their 8 ha plot in Añina located in the hills of Jerez. This 8ha Añina pago is their windiest and most weathered vineyard with eastern raw exposure to the Levante winds. This creates a thicker, more tannic skin and richer, rounder textures.

The harvest is done before those of the fortified wines and pressed more delicately that those that will be fortified. This single vineyard, single variety Palomino is produced from the first grape selection from the Macharnudo pago and is fermented in ancient Manzanilla Barrels where it sits, untouched, on the lees for 7 months.."