98 Par Robert Parker
If someone told you they kept a wine for 84 years in barrel before bottling, you'd think they are nuts, right? Well, that's what the folks at Toro Albalá in Aguilar de la Frontera - in the province of Cordoba, part of the Montilla Moriles appellation - did with their 1931 Don PX Convento Selección. This is part of what they call 'vinos olvidados,' which means 'forgotten wines.' The border is amber, with green tints that denote very old age. Such old age provides an array of unusual aromas and flavors, including iodine and salt that compensate the sweetness (403 grams) and even the alcohol (18%). It's terribly balsamic, with notes of dry herbs and spices, cigar ash, carob beans (algarrobas), incense and noble woods. The palate is very, very sweet and concentrated, unctuous, dense, with a chewy texture. This goes beyond a glass of wine, a drop of it is like having a piece of cake. I don't think this reaches the complexity and depth of the 1946, which remains the benchmark for these old sweet PX, but it's truly terrific! 9,650 bottles were filled in June 2015. <br/><br/>I visited Toro Albalá in their winery in Aguilar de la Frontera in Córdoba. They are famous by the extremely old, complex, sweet and concentrated Pedro Ximénez. I tasted a whole range of wines that are available in 2016, including an incredible 1931. The winery is full of old artifacts, roman stones and God knows what; they have a museum with an incredible collection of old wine books containing some 3,000 volumes. I also tasted a very old Amontillado they might bottle in limited quantities and a PX from around 1950 that showed a similar character to the famous 1946.<br/>
95 Par James Suckling
This is a crazy sweet wine with incredible aromas of toffee, brown sugar, maple syrup, and burnt orange. Black colored with green tint around the edge. Full body, with an incredible viscous and dense texture. So very sweet with dried raisins, sultanas and toffee. Unique experience. Bottled in 2014. Drink forever.
If someone told you they kept a wine for 84 years in barrel before bottling, you'd think they are nuts, right? Well, that's what the folks at Toro Albalá in Aguilar de la Frontera - in the province of Cordoba, part of the Montilla Moriles appellation - did with their 1931 Don PX Convento Selección. This is part of what they call 'vinos olvidados,' which means 'forgotten wines.' The border is amber, with green tints that denote very old age. Such old age provides an array of unusual aromas and flavors, including iodine and salt that compensate the sweetness (403 grams) and even the alcohol (18%). It's terribly balsamic, with notes of dry herbs and spices, cigar ash, carob beans (algarrobas), incense and noble woods. The palate is very, very sweet and concentrated, unctuous, dense, with a chewy texture. This goes beyond a glass of wine, a drop of it is like having a piece of cake. I don't think this reaches the complexity and depth of the 1946, which remains the benchmark for these old sweet PX, but it's truly terrific! 9,650 bottles were filled in June 2015. <br/><br/>I visited Toro Albalá in their winery in Aguilar de la Frontera in Córdoba. They are famous by the extremely old, complex, sweet and concentrated Pedro Ximénez. I tasted a whole range of wines that are available in 2016, including an incredible 1931. The winery is full of old artifacts, roman stones and God knows what; they have a museum with an incredible collection of old wine books containing some 3,000 volumes. I also tasted a very old Amontillado they might bottle in limited quantities and a PX from around 1950 that showed a similar character to the famous 1946.<br/>
