First had this wine at a really memorable tasting with Bodegas Tradición in Reserva y Cata just over two years ago. Back then only one bottle had been found and I didn’t think I would see another bottle but at a splendid lunch with the chaps from Tradicion lo and behold one was produced (amongst a number of others, I might add).

A very nice wine this – the first saca released by Tradición, of the wine that had originally been acquired to refresh their superb amontillados but which inspired Jose Maria Quiros to suggest that they should start producing finos in their own right. A bit different to the finos that have come afterwards, as the solera was built up and as the wines had less time of static ageing (this one was, after all, originally not part of a solera).

It also wears the signs of those five years in the bottle. First, you can see the variation in colour against the November 2017 below – the 2013 on the left, 2017 on the right.

It looks like it has oxidized and you definitely get some of that in the nose and on the palate. Has an old, stewed apple character to the nose, it is softer around the edges – less sharpness and zing on the palate – and in flavour terms has a lower register – stewed rather than fresh citrus, less fresh bread yeastiness and just a hint of bitter salad at the end.

I guess this wine would have been slightly more aromatic and slightly less full bodied than the others on release, and it is a gentle, mellow thing now – very nice indeed.