Pedro Ximinez

What a cool wine.  This is a sweet Sherry.  The grapes were grown in 1964 and harvested in August and the grapes were dried into a must.  After about a year, the wine was made and then stored in Amontillado Butts.  This particular bottling was done in 2022.  We enjoyed it with a friend who is turning 60 and so was his birth year.  The bottle was 200ml and very pretty.  Basically a rectangular shape and sealed with a glass closure.  The wine itself was ethereal.  Deep, dark brown (think dark Molasses) in color.  Bright and opaque.  The nose is great with coffee beans, slight char, slight ver

Sherry represents some of the best values in Wine!  This is a $10 bottle that is complex, interesting and tasty.  Iced tea in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nutty (hazelnuts?) with a slight toffee note.  Viscous.  On the palate, this is off dry (just a bit of sweetness).  Hazelnuts.  The alcohol is noticeable but not overwhelming.  Smooth finish.  This was nice to end the evening although it would work nicely as a first course with some cheeses.  

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

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.

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

This is made from 100% Pedro Ximinez grapes but is dry as a bone.  Supposedly it is not fortified which is possible given how sweet the PX grapes can get although the label lists 19%abv.  Not from Jerz but rather Montilla-Moriles which is where most PX grapes are grown these days.  The Solera is over 15 years old and the average age of the vines is over 20.  The wine comes in 500ml format.  Deep orange/copper in color.  The nose is great.  Deep with complex layers.  Nutty with figs and salinity but also a bit of a buttery note.  On the palate, this is deep and complex.  Layers of nuttiness

This is interesting as it is off dry or demi-sec or what they call Medium Dry.  The wine was aged for three years before loosing the "Flor" due to not being refreshed.  Light copper in color.  There is some volatile acidity on the nose which brings up a lot of nice qualities but also some alcohol.  The wine is nutty with milk chocolate notes and also a bit of "woody" apple cider.  On the palate, this is smooth and the alcohol does not show.  It is sweet though not overtly.  The finish is bitter-sweet.  This drinks well on its own but might be difficult to place with food.  Probably best for

Cream Sherry is a specific style of Sherry that is sweet.  Harvey's Bristol Cream is a blend of Fino, Amontillado and Oloroso, with some Pedro Ximénez.  At one point, this was the largest selling Sherry.  While it might have fallen out of favor in recent years, it still has a large set of devoted fans.  Tawny in color.   The nose has a nice caramel covered apple quality to it with just a bit of toffee.  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.  This