This is a lovely, fruity amontillado fino that was a speculative purchase at Reserva y Cata.

An old slightly rusty gold colour, there is a lot of fruit and mosto, and also dried herbs – oregano even – on the nose. In the mouth it has a nice feel – not as fatty as a fino en rama but a soft feel. Nice flavours – caramelized fruit – and then really zingy at the back of the tongue.

Nice tipple – disappearing quickly!

Another absolutely remarkable wine from Emilio Hidalgo. This is an amontillado fino – several years under flor and then allowed to take a bit of rust from the air. The little brother, if you will, of the 1874 (passim)

It is super elegant, half oil on the tongue and fantastically balanced – super dry but with flavours that feel sweet. Not acidic, but resistant. I could drink this every night.

There was a glimpse earlier and here is the most venerable of the palmas range, a very old (infinitely, according to the label, but more likely around 45 years, according to earthly sources) amontillado from a single bota from the so-called “Museum Solera”.

  
It is an amazing wine – it is fragrant, potent and long lasting, but what is really remarkable about it is its elegance. These days with all the boutique and niche sherries coming out you can get some really tough, woody old amontillados, but this one is so balanced it smells and tastes younger, lighter, but full of pure flavour. It is also so long and all round pleasing it deserves to be up there with the very best wines. 

A really exceptional drop but be warned – admission to this museum is pretty costly.

For me, this sherry is the boss.

It is a bright red, orangey chestnut in colour. On the nose there is caramel and some hints of fruit (orange and even ribena) and aromas of chocolate, tobacco, liquorice, cloves and spices.

On the palate it is elegant but has powerful flavours: black treacle, bitter baked oranges and dark chocolate. It really is awesome – in fact the first time I took it to a wine tasting it was overwhelming.

Overall, this is outstanding, and at 70 euro or so a bottle it is also outstanding value.

This is an amontillado selected by Antonio Barbadillo Mateos (i.e., not the Antonio Barbadillo) from the old soleras of Bodega Francisco Yuste and was an inspired purchase from Mares Vinos one sunny afternoon. 

It is crystal clear, chestnut in colour –  almost a dark rosé to look at. Very sweet on the nose with lots of caramel, but then a lot of Sanlucar salinity on the palate, together with burnt caramel and spice and minerals. Maybe not much by way of yeasty, bakery flavours – you could almost think it was a palo cortado rather than an amontillado – but then it has the elegance and refinement more akin to the former. 

This is an expensive wine by sherry standards – 70 euros or so for a 50cl bottle – but a highly enjoyable one.