After a beery summer holiday a fella is out of touch and out of rhythmn in wine terms and I feel like I am struggling to catch up with the ever-accelerating arms race taking place down in Andalucia.

Not so the guys at elmundovino. They are still up with the pace as their latest tasting shows. It includes the latest releases from the Barajuela project (including the long awaited and much coveted Barajuela Oloroso), the Mayeteria Sanluqueña and Equipo Navazos, the Viñas de Callejuela, Nude Tintilla and Pastora, the spanking new “Tres Miradas” project by Alvear, and some new wines from Barbadillo that I confess I hadn’t even heard of (the “Arbolledilla”).

I clearly have some significant ground to make up, and this is only part I. (And some drinking to do looking at those scores.)