Thought to have been made in the 1850s or 1860s
this ancient Moscatel was made before Phylloxera ravaged Jerez in the 1890s. It
comes from a single butt laid down in honour of the appointment of Pope Pius X
in 1903, and who went on to be canonised in 1954. The wine is made from the
Moscatel Menudo grape which was one of 40 permitted in those pre Denominacion de Origen days, but has long
been superseded by the Moscatel de Alejandría, and has an alcoholic strength of
only 9°. After well over a century of ageing there only remained some 90 litres of
wine in the butt which was enough for 120 bottles. Of these, 100 will be sold
at £1,000 each, while the rest will be kept at the bodega. Naturally the wine
is amazingly intense, but apparently has a remarkable freshness nonetheless.
