Spain

• Alicante
• Andalusia
• Campo de Borja
• Castilla y Leon
  • Bierzo
• Catalonia
• Jerez
• Jumilla
• Madrid
• La Mancha
• Manchuela
• Méntrida
• Montsant
• Navarra
• Pais Vasco (Basque)
• Priorat
• Rias Baixas
• Ribera Del Duero
• Ribera del Guadiana
• Rioja
• Rueda
• Terra Alta
• Toro
• Valdeorras
• Valdepeñas
• Valencia
• Yecla

This is made from the Pedro Ximinez or PX grape.  It is a sweet dessert wine.  Coffee brown in color with some green twinges (think Madeira), opaque and bright.  The nose is gorgeous and complex with tootsie roll notes along with raisins, figs and a touch of burnt orange peel.  Also a sort of sea air salinity lurks in the background.  This is viscous like 10W40 motor oil.  On the palate, this is sweet.  Notes of coffee, toffee layer with dark chocolate and the light salinity comes thru.  Complex and deep but also delicious.  A little goes a long way.  Very smooth.  This should last for a lo

A pleasure to again revisit this wine.  It often gets short shrift these days, but for those who haven't tried it, this is a very nice sweet wine that offers pleasure and value.  If you get a bottle for the holidays, don't re-gift it.  You may be pleasantly surprised.  Open it up and try it.  It is a blend of Fino, Amontillado and Oloroso, with some Pedro Ximénez.   Iced tea in color, clear and bright.  The nose has toffee with slight caramel.  There is some noticeable alcohol on the nose.  Viscous texture and full bodied.  On the palate, this is sweet but not cloying.  There is a nice acid

Olorosso sherries are an acquired taste.  This is dry and different from most wines.  For those of us who love this style, this is a good thing as sherries have some of the best quality to price ratio in the wine world.  Olorosso sherries are made in an oxidative wine from the start.  They are fortified with a neutral spirit (around 17or 18% abv) that kills the yeasts.  This one is quite smooth and tasty.  Deep amber in color, clear and bright.  The nose is oxidized with walnuts and some apricots and orange peel.  Full bodied.  On the palate, the alcohol is noticeable but not bitter or hot.

This wine, first introduced in 2002, is always a popular wine with those who enjoy full throttle wines that have plenty of fruit. But, it is more than just a lush fruit bomb. The vines producing fruit range from 40 to 70 years old.  Purple in color with some ruby hues.  The nose has black cherries, cinnamon, and baking spices.  On the palate, this has juicy cherries and black cherries with some underlying char and earthiness.  Plenty of depth.  There is a fair amount of oak showing on this, but if one prefers, lay this down in a good cellar for ten years and it should integrate nicely.  Ah,

This is a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha, 10% Graciano, and 5% Manuelo from Spain.  It is a modern, delicious take on Rioja.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, espresso, and baking spices.  Full bodied.  Very nice texture. It has lots of black raspberries, some black cherries with underlying spice.  There is some warmth to it.  Drinking great now, it should drink well for another decade.  This drinks great on its own and will work great with heavier meat dishes.  Think steak or brisket.  

From the mountains, just east of Madrid comes this old vine, high altitude Garnacha that is unlike any that I have tried from elsewhere in the world.  It is 98% Garnacha and 2% Cariñena.  The vines are 90 years old.  It is very pretty in the glass.  Light but intense ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has candied cherries, with underlying char and great minerality.  With air a touch of pine and salinity shows up.  On the palate, this is medium bodied.  Very concentrated.  The candied cherries are there but also a fresh cherry quality.  Underlying char and minerals.  Great energy wit

After going decades without trying this, this is my second time this month.  And you know what, it shows well again.  Yes, this wine can be dissed by wine nerds, but it is enjoyable and reasonably priced.  One glass is plenty but that is true with many sweet wines.  Tawny in color.   The nose has a nice caramel and red apple quality.  There is little oxidation showing on the nose.  On the palate, this is nice.  Sweet but less than expected.  Caramel and nuttiness, with a slight salinity.  No hint of heat or alcohol.

First off, this is not wine, it is Brandy.  That said, it is distilled from young, Palomino and Airén grapes. Then aged for ten to twelve years in American oak that had previously been used for oloroso sherry.  It is 40% abv.  Light golden in color.  The nose has alcohol but also a nice nuttiness with a bit of dates.  On the palate, this is warm but not hot.  There are nice figs along with caramel.  Warmth on the finish.  For $30, this is a nice value in Brandy.  Best sipped on its own.  

Dark brown in color, drab green at the rim, bright and opaque.  The nose has a nice coffee quality to it along with a bit of chocolate and slight fig notes.  On the palate, this is smooth.  Not a lot of depth but tasty.  Sweet.  The chocolate and figs carry thru to the palate.  Nice finish.  This would be good on its own for dessert or with a not too sweet chocolate dessert.  

This is a sweet dessert wine.  The PX grapes are picked and dried on straw mats until they have lost half of their weight at which point neutral spirits are added.  The soleras average over 30 years old though I didn't notice a VORS designation on the label.  Dark in color like black coffee.  The nose reminds of "tootsie rolls" along with some fig and coffee.  On the palate, this is viscous.  Notes of coffee and nutmeg along with fig.  Sweet.  Long finish.  This wine will last for decades.  This should be served for dessert either on its own or with a less sweet dessert made with coffee, fi