Thursday 6 June 2019

Amoroso Asalto 20%, Bodegas Garvey

Appearance
Deep browny mahogany fading to amber with a hint of green at the rim and copper/ruby glints.
Nose
Magnificent. There is a certain "ironed cotton" like aroma in wines which have long been in bottle - not only Sherries - and it is very evident here. There is a delightful old-fashioned air about it with aromas of old barrels, walnut, burnt sugar and coffee along with savoury, almost autolytic notes. Naturally there is some sweetness too, but Oloroso predominates giving a full, rich nutty style.
Palate
Full bodied and fairly intense, there is certainly some sweetness here but the Oloroso and its attendant volatile acidity quickly take over to balance it out and the finish is virtually dry, and very long. The burnt sugar and walnut character persists and while there is a notable texture there is no aggressive tannin, just a very faint but welcome background bitterness, it is more tangy than tannic. So much better and sophisticated than most of today´s Cream Sherries!
Comments
The solera for this outstanding wine was established in 1858 by Patricio Garvey Capdepon and it belongs in the firm´s "Sacristía de Garvey" range which was produced in limited quantities in numbered bottles and originally reserved for the family - their best Sherries, in other words. It consists of approximately 95% Oloroso and 5% PX ,which are were already quite old, blended together and then aged in a separate solera for quite long enough to be classified as VOS but this was produced before VOS came into force. This has always been the best way to produce a Cream style Sherry, which this more or less is, since the term "Cream" has superceded that of "Amoroso". The name is a bit of a play on words; Asalto means "attack, assault", while Amoroso means (apart from a sweetened Oloroso) "loving, amorous", two opposites. Sadly it looks very likely that Garvey will disappear as a Sherry brand, so I grabbed this wine, which has been in bottle for probably well over 20 years, and probably hasn´t been produced since then.
Price
48.50, Licores Corredera

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