Another lovely glass of wine from my lunch at Verdejo Taberna yesterday and one of the house favourites (they actually have a little bota on the bar but consumption outstrips supply). It is a Jerez Amontillado by Sanchez Romate – 100% palomino fino and an average age of  around 15 years (note that the reference to over 30 years on the web is an error – many thanks to Ruben at Sherrynotes for pointing that out. The NPU presumably refers to “Non Plus Ultra” – latin for none better, and should not be confused with a legendary and mysterious old Sanlucar amontillado allegedly labelled NPI (broadly, “not a bloody clue”).

I actually tasted it once before last year and although I wouldn’t change that original note I am a little surprised by the outcome. I definitely underrated it a little last year, although that could be due to the bottle I had – which had suffered a little leakage. Also, I am interested to see how the other wines I have tried in the meantime have changed my perception.

Anyway, as you can see it is a beautiful lively, deep amber colour and both on the nose and the palate one of the things that catches the attention is the youthfulness of the wine – it is really fresh and full of caramel and fruit flavour, with a lot of hazelnut on the nose. On the other hand, that youthful caramel and juice is beautifully balanced on the palate, which is dry with nice acidity and saline sharpness. A lovely elegant finish in particular.

A beautiful wine.