Quite old-looking transparent amber to yellow to a hint of green at the rim, legs.
Nose
Very delicate but full with lots of Amontillado character, plenty of toasted hazelnut and almond, traces of vanilla and oak, still vestiges of its Manzanilla background in the form of saline and bitter hints from the flor, not a great deal of implied sweetness but some, in all complex and interesting.
Palate
Broadly similar; light and elegant with a good zingy tang to it, very Sanlúcar, hints of flor bitterness, walnut and still those almonds and hazelnuts, oak, all balancing out with a hint of apparent sweetness. A wine with great charm, dry with terrific zip and length, wonderful with food. Delicious.
This wine is made from grapes grown in the firm's own vineyards in the pagos Miraflores and Balbaina and fermented using the natural yeasts. Fortified to 15% the wine ages for a while as a Manzanilla until its Palo Cortado properties are recognised, when it is fortified to 17% and made ready for the late XVIII century Palo Cortado solera. Just to confuse things, there is also a Palo Cortado Wellington VORS 30 years old, but at least they now have different labels. They also produce an Amontillado Napoleon VORS. Back in the early XIX century during the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, there was doubt about which side would win, and in order to at least appear loyal or even stay safe, some firms labelled wines with the names of each of the two opposing leaders. Either way, hopefully, they could sell some wine.
Price
31.75 Euros ex bodega per 50cl. bottle, around £25 in the UK, fairly widely available, UK importers: Mentzendorff.
No comments:
Post a Comment