Deep, slightly red-tinted amber-mahogany fading through yellow to a touch of green at the rim, legs.
Nose
Harmonious, generous and fairly sweet aromas of dried orange peel, some dried fruits: sultana, apricot, and the slightest trace of cinnamon, then there is a nutty woody side: marzipan, walnuts and oak. Quite high-toned with a tangy, zesty, varnishy feel with some richness behind but not as fat as some Oloroso, complex and interesting.
Palate
Dry, tangy and sinewy with a fair acidity and a hint of bitterness mainly from the wood tannins, this is brilliant with food - I tried it. Medium to full bodied with a tension between that acidity and the round, apparently quite sweet Oloroso walnutty generosity giving a tangy balance and leaving the palate clean. Really long too. Racy and delicious.
Comments
This is bottle No. 104 from a saca of 200 (or only 150 litres) lot 1/10. As always, it was filled and labelled by hand with a driven cork and wax seal, along with a spare stopper cork and wooden gift box. This wine came from a number of butts of vintage wine bought from the old Croft bodegas. (What a pity Croft will always be remembered for Croft Original!) The grapes were harvested in August-September 1975 and the wine remained in a butt sealed by the Consejo until January 2010 (I'm guessing) making it over 34 years old. In that time the merma (loss by transpiration) was 70%, so you can easily see why these wines are expensive.
In the photo (below) of the butt it might have come from, you can see the Consejo seal over the bunghole; crossed red ribbons and four seals. This can only be removed by the Consejo.
The picture on the label is a reproduction of an incredibly realistic oil painting called "Guardacantón" (a sort of neighbourhood watch) from the collection of Joaquín Rivero housed at the bodega, and was painted by the Sevillano artist José Jiménez Aranda (1837-1903).
£125.00 from Raeburn Fine Wines, Edinburgh, who are UK agents.
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| (pic: pinterest.com) |
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