Amontillado 21%, Colección Roberto Amillo

Appearance

Mahogany tinged chestnut with copper highlights fading through amber to a hint of green at the rim.

Nose

Lovely nose, forthcoming and fragrant with lots of toasted almonds and hazelnuts, turrón, traces of oak, tobacco and antique furniture with a glyceric note which rounds it off beautifully. It is a textbook example of fine Amontillado with considerable complexity and a great deal of charm with that classic gently implied sweetness which makes Amontillado so attractive.

Palate

Fairly intense and quite complex, beautifully rounded by that glyceric feel which balances out any more astringent oak notes, in fact there is a hint of sweetness but no more than that and very little tannin though there is a faint bitter hint which works well. Lots of nuts and hints of oak, it is an old wine yet without the slightly aggressive notes extended ageing can bring and has a very long,  satisfying, dignified finish.

Comments

The Roberto Amillo Collection, or Espiritus de Jerez, is a range of top quality products from the Marco de Jerez selected by Roberto Amillo. Like the other marquistas (people who buy small quantities from the bodegas for sale under their own label) he scours the area looking for outstanding examples of their type, one butt at a time and having them bottled in his distinctive square bottles with their Gaudi-esque corks. This beautiful old Amontillado was sourced from bodegas Dios Baco. It is probably all of 30 years old but cannot use the Consejo VOS/VORS label as it is too complicated for small one-off batches. Besides, the name Roberto Amillo should be sufficient to guarantee top quality, and the price is very reasonable for that quality.

Price

41 euros per 50cl, Licores Corredera

Brandy Luis Enrique Solera Gran Reserva 38%, Bodegas Dios Baco

Appearance
Very deep blacky walnut brown fading to amber with copper glints.
Nose
Full, forthcoming, quite complex and characterful with pronounced oak notes and lots of super ripe fruity PX fig, date and raisin aromas, yet it doesn't smell dramatically sweet - rather one gets the raisin smell and texture which is nicely melded with the oak and the spirit. There are aromas of nuts toasted in caramel, walnuts, toffee, chocolate and a balsamic hint. A really good nose.
Palate

A little more sweetness now, that of dried fruit but much less tannin than expected. It is super smooth and very rich with a gentle bite from the spirit, feeling more viscous than many brandies, but very tasty. There are traces of liquorice along with the dried fruits and hints of nuts, and it lines the palate with flavour and texture which lasts for ages.

Comments

The Moors occupied Jerez for 553 years and inevitably the locals learned a few things during that time. One was distillation, an art which would later spread throughout Europe and perhaps reach its zenith in Cognac. This brandy is named after a French general, simply known as "Louis GS", who came from Cognac and fought in Spain in 1809 during the Napoleonic wars. It seems that he passed on some of his wisdom and experience to the locals which helped improve the quality of their brandy.  If only more French soldiers had been so philanthropic! It is a good story, but this brandy could not be more Spanish. It is basically the same spirit as the Dios Baco Solera Gran Reserva which is aged in Oloroso butts, but for Luis Enrique some of this goes on to be further aged in butts seasoned with Pedro Ximénez from the excellent Oxford 1970 solera. This results in two completely different brandies, this one being available only in limited quantities.

Price
37.50 Licores Corredera

Brandy Dios Baco Solera Gran Reserva 40%, Bodegas Dios Baco

Appearance
Bright mahogany chestnut with gold and copper highlights.

Nose

Fresh crisp and quite fruity, good clean spirit with notes of oak, dried fruit, vanilla, caramel, toasted nuts, tobacco, and of course Oloroso, all enhanced by faint notes of exotic wood. The aroma is quite complex with plenty of character and charm.

Palate

Again crisp and fruity at the start followed by a slight caramel sweetness flavoured with dried fruits and vanilla. It is quite powerful but never loses focus and has virtually no aggressive tannins. The finish is very long and tasty. This is an excellent brandy.
Comments

Behind this magnificent label is an excellent brandy. It is one of two Solera Gran Reservas made at Dios baco. This one is aged in a solera of Oloroso butts and the other, Luis Enrique, in a solera of PX butts, so what is basically the same brandy ends up in two very different forms. I've heard this one referred to as Bodegón, but there is no mention of this on the label. It could have something to do with the solera's location. Anyway it is a jolly good brandy.

Price
22.50 euros, Licores Corredera

Palo Cortado VORS Baco Imperial 19.5%, Bodegas Dios Baco

Appearance

Attractive transparent amber-topaz with coppery old gold reflections, legs.

Nose

Full, crisp, fragrant, open and complex. Pronounced Amontillado - almost crianza biologica - notes with a gentle bitterness and lots of toasted almond and hazelnut, a trace of marzipan-like sweetness balances with a phenolic note of oak. This is an old wine and gracefully integrated by age.

Palate

Tight and elegant at first, apparently quite light, then it opens out a bit revealing slightly fuller, more generous and textured Oloroso nutty notes with traces of cinnamon, wood and candied orange peel. There is a certain (volatile) acidity and a very acceptable level of tannin for a wine of this age, and there is a gentle grip but it helps give the wine its terrific length.

Comments

This is an excellent old wine from the Baco Imperial range which covers the bodega's oldest wines. Palos Cortados are so interesting; they swing between Amontillado and Oloroso, and the differences are incredibly subtle but I would say this is closer to Amontillado. It is a very elegant wine with all the nuances which can only be acquired by long ageing.

Price
About 55 euros ex bodega

Pedro Ximénez Oxford 1970 17%, Bodegas Dios Baco

Appearance

Opaque black with a narrow walnut-brown rim, very viscous.

Nose

Intense toffee-laden raisin fruit with hints of dried fig and prune balance with gentle phenolic notes of grapeskin and traces of coffee and toast characteristic of long ageing in Jerez. There is a velvety texture apparent and a clear aroma of the raw material - sun-dried Pedro Ximénez grapes.

Palate

Very rich, viscous and very smooth at the start then it grows into a highly complex wine which is intensely sweet yet appears a bit less sweet as the flavour develops and the phenolic side comes through. The wine has a real feel to it and you can almost eat the texture of the raisins, and that has a delightful appeal which lingers for a considerable time on the palate.

Comments

This excellent PX scored 92 at Wine Enthusiast, and deservedly so. It is around 19 years average age and has the sort of depth and character only long ageing could bestow. I'm afraid I don't know why it has this name, I forgot to ask the last time I visited the bodega. It is not a vintage wine however; the 1970 may refer to the establishment of the solera, but as to the "Oxford" I don't know. Perhaps surprisingly, it is nearly as old as the firm's PX VOS which is not greatly above 20 years of average age, but it is good to know that PX of this standard is used to produce the Cream Sherry. This was the wine chosen by the Consejo Regulador as an ideal representative of good Jerez PX for bottling under the Consejo label in celebration of the 2014 City of Wine celebrations.

Price

Around 11 euros per 50cl bottle ex bodega

Moscatel Esnobista 16%, Bodegas Dios Baco

Appearance

Deep browny mahogany fading to yellow, pronounced legs.

Nose

Attractive with hints of american oak then deeply fruity well-sunned pasas, you can smell the dried grapes as they go to the press, lots of Moscatel raisin and a touch of caramel. Full and quite concentrated yet it has a luscious grapey freshness. There is a slight burnt toasty note from the oak and a hint of turrón de yema tostada, all balancing out.

Palate

Full, ripe and mature with a gentle tang and that burnt toasty note keeping the lusciousness under control. Lovely texture and not over sweet with good length. A very good Moscatel.

Comments
This is a "Moscatel de Pasas" meaning it is made from sunned grapes - as opposed to just overripe grapes - and they grew in Chipiona, Sherry's moscatel country. The solera is over 35 years old and the wine is over 12. The word "Esnobista" means "snobbish" or a person who thinks they are better than they really are. This wine is excellent, however. Interestingly the word "snob" comes from the Latin. In Rome when they registered people as living in the locality they added their status or nobility. If the person had none, they would write "sine nobilitas" or s.nob. for short. Now you know!

Price

10.70 Euros. Not available in UK, but online deli delicioso.co.uk has some of the range, and might be persuaded?

Fino Buleria 15% Bodegas Dios Baco

Appearance
Paleish golden straw with a trace of gold, light legs.
Nose
Attractive and forthcoming with lots of character. A fine balance of bitter flor notes with a slight trace of dry scrub, a faint note of wood and resin with hints of fruit,damp bodega and oxidation but predominantly flor and constantly evolving.
Palate
Broadly similar, quite full, dry and pleasantly bitter with excellent texture and length, a classic Jerez Fino with not too much taken out.
Comments
This lovely Fino is aged for about five years and bottled not en Rama but with only light filtration. The solera is at the interesting bodega in the Calle Huerta Pintada in central Jerez, once belonging to Palomino & Vergara. Here they also age the older wines. Buleria is a purely Jerez style of Flamenco.
Price
£ 14,25 from delicioso.co.uk importers of Spanish food and drink

Amontillado VOS Baco Imperial 19.5%, Dios Baco

Appearance
Amber, polished old mahogany fading through yellow to a hint of green at the rim, legs
Nose
Refined, tight nose with toasted almonds and hazelnuts mingling with the aromas of old barrels in a bodega. Not as apparently sweet as many, though there are gentle hints of sweetness, dried fruit and wood. It is a more serious nose than some, but with a most attractive deep old nutty core.
Palate
Quite intense flavour, dry with lots of nuts and wood, fairly tangy acidity and just enough glycerol to balance the wood tannins and give a really natural style. Some Amontillados seem really quite sweet but this one is drier than many so you can see exactly what is there, and it is a fairly lean, clean absolutely natural wine with great length and would be brilliant with food.
Comments
The solera is from the 1870's, and was bought along with others by Paez Morilla when they established Dios Baco in 1992, in some of the remaining old Palomino & Vergara bodegas. The VOS wines are a minimum of 20 years old, and this one tastes just so.
Price
35 Euros in Spain. Not available in the UK, unfortunately.

12.9.13 Parker Points for Bodegas Dios Baco

Bodegas Dios Baco is the latest bodega in Jerez to receive great scores in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Magazine. The scores are:

Palo Cortado Baco Imperial VORS: 92
Pedro Ximenez Baco Imperial VOS: 92
Oloroso Baco Imperial VORS: 91
Amontillado Baco Imperial VOS: 91

In the Parker scheme of things, acheiving over 90 points puts a wine in the Fine Wine category, with no faults. At last Parker is recognising the sheer quality of Sherry!

Bodegas: Dios Baco

Jose Paez Morilla is proprietor of Paez Morilla, a company based on the south side of Jerez which produces local table wines and outstanding vinegars from a solera established by his grandfather in 1910. When they decided to commercialise vinegar in the 1940s, more was needed and fine old butts were purchased from many leading Sherry bodegas. After buying the vineyard “La Vicaria”, they decided to add table wines to their portfolio, and “Tierra Blanca” was launched in 1981.

The next move was to acquire a Sherry business, and that was achieved in 1992 with the purchase of one of the attractive old Palomino & Vergara bodegas constructed in 1848 in the Calle Medina, as well as some old soleras.  P & V had owned twelve bodegas in the area, each named after one of the twelve apostles, and this one, which was named after Matthew, was re-christened Dios Baco, and a new brand created. It contains fino soleras, older wines and brandy, while another nearby bodega houses more wine and their despacho de vinos (wine shop) in the Calle Huerta Pintada, as well as a third bodega towards the outskirts of town which houses more soleras, offices and bottling.

Bodega and shop, Calle Huerta Pintada

Dios Baco offer 3 ranges of Sherry:

Buleria Fino and Cream

The Dios Baco range:

Fino, Ria Pita Manzanilla, Amontillado, Oloroso, Cream, Oxford 1970 PX (@ 19 years old), Baco de Elite Oloroso Medium Dry (12-15 years old) and Esnobista Moscatel de Pasas (12-15 years old).

The Baco Imperial range:

PX VOS, Amontillado VOS, Palo Cortado VORS and Oloroso VORS

Visits?  Yes, by arrangement.

Address: Calle Huerta Pintada s/n, Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz

Tel: (+34) 956 333 337

Web: www.bodegasdiosbaco.com

Manzanilla Ria Pita 15%, Bodegas Dios Baco

Appearance
Yellowy gold, not as pale as some, and more legs. Some light sediment in the bottle.
Nose
Most attractive and fairly intense salinity, bitter almond, acetaldehyde and early stage yeast autolysis along with sea breezes, a trace of iodine. Lots of character, but may well have been on the shelf for a while.
Palate
As fully flavoured as the nose, but with a very slightly oily feel and a trace of quince jelly indicating light oxidation. Still delicious though with lots of flor bitterness, very long, intense and very complex. Finos/Manzanillas can age very rewardingly in bottle given good conditions.
Comments
Looks as if this wine avoided being over filtered, leaving it to develop more interestingly in bottle, and while it is not in pristine condition, it is delicious. Frankly it could pass as a Manzanilla Pasada of decent quality, and is probably better than when it was bottled. It has definitely been around a bit, but has improved. I just filtered it through a hankie and enjoyed every drop. Hopefully, if you can find a bottle, it will be fresher, but don't worry if it isn't.
Anyway, Dios Baco buy in their Manzanilla, so I don't know much about it except that  it is good. Ria Pita, by the way is the sound of the castanets, with the accent on the last syllables.

Price

£8.50 (50cl) from Herbie's Delicatessen, Edinburgh. I can't find any importer as yet.