Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

Cayetana, high-yielding Spanish white grape variety travelling under many aliases, including Pardina and Jaén Blanco in Spain and Mourisco Branco in Portugal where there were more than 1,000 ha in 2012. Official 2011 Spanish vine statistics still distinguished between the synonyms, but plantings totalled more than 39,000 ha/96,6000 acres. It produces low-acid, neutral-flavoured wines which oxidize easily. It is particularly popular, as Pardina, in the extremadura region, especially in Badajoz province on the border with Portugal, where much of its produce is distilled into Brandy de Jerez. In Rioja it may be known as Cazagal, and Baladí is another synonym. The variety is closely related to many other Iberian varieties.