Ths is an old amontillado from a finite supply – no longer being made and only a few cases are left. I got this (and a twin) from the Cuatrogatos Wine Club, a great source for small bottlings, rare sherries and other indie wines. It is by Delgado Zuleta (but don’t look for this on their web). 

Not keen on the look of the cork I must say – not sure how long I would trust that to keep this wine safe.

As to the wine itself, it has a nice orange colour to it but not fully clear. Also has that distinctive refined petroleum nose – sweet, salty, and alcoholic. 

Zingy acidity and sapidity on the palate too – sweetness and a nice hint of burnt wood, then saltiness Maybe a hint of age about it – slightly dusty, astringent vibe and woody, tobacco flavours.

Nice wine, no doubt, one that was brilliant tonight with roast chicken, but while tasty I find its flavours a little on the barrel side. 

This is a VORS (30 year old) amontillado by bodegas Alvaro Domecq (not the lost, lamented giant, but a scion of the family that bought the business of Pilar Aranda, a historic almacenista). I got this one so cheap I was intrigued but it turned out to be a really tasty little bottle of amontillado.

Beautiful red colour – maybe not quite as crystal clear as some. On the nose it is like barrel aged toffee – little bit of that gasoline buzz in the background. Then on the palate it isn’t all that full but there is acidity, toffee and burnt flavours.

Very pleasant drop all told.

Oh my word this is even better than I remembered.  The artsy photo is slightly misleading – the wine is fresh from the cabinet and the condensation on the glass makes it look slightly cloudy when in reality it is as clear as a rich honey coloured bell.

The first waft of this across the nose was divine – hazelnuts in honey. A closer inspection and the salty minerals are more prominent but there is no missing the sweet caramel notes and nuttiness.

Then on the palate well, it is all there – zingy, salty buzz to the tongue, and then super dry and intense but with flavours that suggest sweetness: caramel, nuts and even orange marmalade. Lovely long finish that seems to actually get better.

A world class wine, no doubt.

Seen here in the shadow of a delightful floral offering. My third time so I have kept it short (see episodes one and two here and here).

This is top drawer – a really cracking, drinkable but complex amontillado. Honey and hay on the nose (in fact the lilies are an excellent comparison – similar aroma) and a honey style sweetness on the front end but some saline zing, yeast and spice to give it style.

Really approachable and something that any wine lover should try.

Another repeat customer and another from the Finca Matalian of Primitivo Collantes– like a Victorian era explorer I an following the stream up/down as far  as I can. (Unlike the aforesaid, from the comfort of a stool at the bar of Taberna Verdejo.)

In colour it is an appetising dark gold – yellow brown rather than the orange or red notes of an older amontillado. After the fino and the en rama it is no surprise to find minerals, ozone, sea air in the nose, but the sweet caramel fruit aromas envelope and balance them in this and make it a less aggressive nose overall.

In the mouth there is that same zing, those salty minerals, although for me the texture is slightly finer (maybe it is more in keeping with this fuller flavoured wine), and there are sweet caramel, fruit flavours that again balance the saltiness, fill the palate and, it may be my imagination but seem to me to get back to the fruitiness of the mosto.

A really enjoyable wine with a nice edge of mineral complexity.

After a couple of days without sherry it is a pleasure to tuck into this, a small production wine from La Callejuela (obtained from the Cuatrogatos wine club).

It is an orange-brown colour and has a very powerful nose of  alcoholic caramel and vanilla and maybe some marmalade, baked citrus in the background.

On the palate there is pronounced salinity, real power and zing. For such a lightly coloured wine there is more astringency than expected too, then woodiness to it, including in the long finish – maybe notes of vanilla caramel but very very dry – almost dusty dry. Maybe a little on the woody/dusty side for my taste if anything.

Big nose, concentration and dryness – a classy, grown up amontillado.

The second of my mini bottles of these old old Gonzalez Byass gems.

According to the GB website this solera dates from 1835 and the wine has spent an average of more than 30 years in oak butts (I assume this means 30 years of traditional ageing, in addition to whatever time spent under flor at the outset, but it is not 100% clear). Unlike the other wines in this rare old solera range, this is 100% palomino with no Pedro Ximenez whatsoever.

It is a deep but slightly yellow brown in colour – not as much red as in the wines of the last few evenings. For its age it has a relatively youthful (by which I mean not dusty or leathery) aroma, it is really nutty and, well, very powerful.

On the palate it is concentrated – a really powerful salty zing to it over the tongue – and incredibly dry. It has a lack of astringency compared to a really old oloroso or palo cortado, a characteristic that I love about amontillados, but the flavours are dry and woody – roasted and burnt nuts rather than toffee.

Another really serious wine. Excellent.

  
After all those palo cortados last night I felt like a nice glass of amontillado and this is just the ticket.

I first opened this bottle back in September and have had a few dips in the time since – it is one of those wines you can drink on any occasion. 

Anyway, here it is again, a beautiful orange amber colour – a touch darker than I remember from six weeks ago and maybe just a bit less sweetness on the nose. Seems an odd thing to say about a wine that has been traditionally aged for so long but in the few weeks open it seems to have lost a little energy. 

It still has a powerful zingy, acidic feel to it -really acidic on the tongue – and a big flavour of smokey herbs and burnt caramel. What I love about these amontillados is not just the bready, nuttiness but the lack of astringency compared to the olorosos and palo cortados – they don’t seem to have the same reduction at a similar traditional age. It makes the finish much lighter and more elegant. 

Whatever, this was cracking. Am glad to have had a couple of glasses, if sad to have finished the bottle by doing so. 

Second of this range of reserve wines by Romate that I am tasting – after the Regente Palo Cortado a couple of weeks ago. As noted previously, the nice old school bottles are interesting but inconvenient. 

It is darkish amber in colour – not as much red/orange as in the palo cortado and it has nice nutty, umami aromas. Also a nice nuttiness to it on the palate – not too much salinity or astringency, and nice caramel flavours that stay in balance. 

A very nice, elegant wine – maybe lacking a bit of spark but a solid effort.