Description
Toro Albalá should need little introduction as the most significant producer of Pedro Ximénez in the world today. Under the guidance of Antonio Sánchez Romero, in 1970, Toro Albalá was the first Montilla producer to commercialise bottled, dessert-styled Pedro Ximénez. We believe the Bodega also remains the world’s only specialist in 100% vintage Pedro Ximénez. Toro Albalá works with the finest vineyard holdings in Montilla and today houses the oldest and most legendary stocks in the region.
Founded in 1844, Toro Albalá is based in Aguilar de la Frontera, right in the bullseye of DO Montilla-Moriles, the hilly Andalucían hinterland that forms ‘P.X. country’. The DO surrounds the two towns of Montilla in the north and Moriles in the south, both in the Province of Cordoba. In 1922 José Maria Toro Albalá purchased the Estate and made his mark by moving the whole Bodega into a former electrical plant. It was here that José Maria began to write the blueprint for the modern incarnation of Toro Albalá.
Toro Albalá’s old, bush-vine Pedro Ximénez is planted on the bleach-white, chalky albariza soils of the region. This soil type is not unique to Montilla-Moriles—Sherry’s other capitals of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Jerez de la Frontera share the spoils. However, the combination of these light soils with altitude and the hot, dry climate—one that can sufficiently ripen Pedro Ximénez—set Montilla apart from its maritime-influenced sister regions.
This producer’s reputation lies in the balance of extraordinary sun-ripened richness and depth of old vine P.X., combined with a bright, savoury quality, which never allows the wines to veer into the cloying end of the spectrum. This is managed through strict quality control, from the old vines and great soils, all the way through their very long aging process.
The Bodega’s mindboggling vintage wines are black as pitch, indescribably complex and represent the most profound expressions of P.X. from Andalucía.
About this wine: Don PX (or Gran Reserva) is Toro Albalá’s signature vintage-dated wine, with each vintage kept separate from harvest through to bottling, giving every release its own unique personality. It takes almost three kilos of sun-dried grapes (asoleo method) to produce a single litre of this wine. Once pressed, the must is fortified to 9% and then settles in stainless steel tank for twelve months, before being fortified again to 17% and moved into American oak butts for at least twenty years of careful aging. The 2004 is concentrated and rich, with unctuous aromas and flavours of ripe dates, maple, cinnamon and aged brown sugar and then fabulous cut and freshness. Released at over twenty years of age, it is another bargain.
This is extraordinary nectar!
94 points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate “There is a distinct perfumed note, almost floral (jasmine, orange blossom), a little Moscatel-like that makes it very attractive and that I found in most of the PXs this year, which made them stand apart when tasting them with PXs from producers in Jerez.
RRP $101 Our Special Price when you buy 3 or more of this wine $82.99 – 375 ml bottles.
