Description
Toro Albala is arguably the best producer of Pedro Ximenez (PX) in the world today with the finest vineyards in Montilla (the region for Pedro!) in Spain. PX Gran Reserva 1986 is aged a minimum of 25 years in cask prior to bottling. After filling these barrels are left for decades in their single-vintage state for the slow maturation during which wines undertake their delicious, savoury, rancio transformation (though controlled exposure to oxygen) which brings a kind of nutty, iodine character that infinitely complexes the wine but also gives it added freshness. Naturally, as the wines concentrate in flavour and texture, the colour darkens and mouth-feel develops accordingly. After a minimum of 25 years in barrel, vintages are selected for release only when they have attained these classic hallmarks of aged P.X. Concentrated mahogany colour with intense coffee and tobacco aromas over a dense and penetrating dried fruit flavour and firm tannin structure. Toro Albala is the world ‘s only specialist in Vintage Dessert PX. This is extraordinary nectar….
“Toro Albalá has been releasing vintage-dated, sweet wines in chronological order for a while (I have great memories of the 1972) and the ‘current’ release is the 1986 Don PX Gran Reserva, which is a dark, sweet and concentrated dessert wine aged in American oak casks until bottling in June 2014. It has 350 grams of residual sugar. It’s extremely dark, motor oil-dense, sweet wine with notes of raisins, hints of flowers, minty with aromas of candied orange peel and herbs, really aromatic and showy. The palate is dense, with the sweetness balanced by good acidity plus spicy and chocolate flavors.” 92 points, Luis Gutierrez, eRobertParker.com #216
RRP $66
