Other Wines

Could use a little more complexity, but fresh and fruity, with lots of flavors. Medium sweetness. - WS81

Young, grapey and robust. Its flavors are dominated by raisin, plum and chocolate. Simple, straightforward and delicious, with a moderate grip. - WS84

"The NV Palo Cortado Obispo Gascon, produced from Palomino grapes averaging 20 years old, and shows the telltale nose of Palo Cortado with its lactic touch and an off-dry nose of apricots, blond tobacco and spices. The palate is dominated by the salty notes (common to all Barbadillo wines), sharp, medium-bodied, with great length. Drink 2013-2019." 92pts WA

The Palo Cortado sherries are particularly special within the Jerez-Xèrés-Sherry Designation of Origin. This is because despite the fact that production follows the similar physical-chemical process of oxidative ageing as with the olorosos, the result is quite different with their organoleptic characteristics falling somewhere between those of an amontillado and an oloroso.

Barbadillo is, without a doubt, both the largest and the leading bodega of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Created in 1821 by Benigno Barbadillo, the company it’s still owned today by the seventh generation of the Barbadillo family, dozens of stockholders spread throughout Spain, although not necessarily involved in the operations. The business has also expanded, not only within the Sherry district, where they sell an impressive 12 million bottles of wine annually (a lot of it is the young and fruity Castillo de San Diego, which at one point was the biggest selling white wine in Spain), 40% of which are exported, but also in Ribera del Duero and Somontano. They employ 300 people and their wines are available in 39 different countries. In Sherry they own 500 hectares of vineyards, stock around 60% of the total production of Manzanilla which ages in 12,500 botas in their great cellars in Sanlucar, mainly in La Arboledilla winery, the tallest bodega in the Marco de Jerez, an impressive 16 meters high, and in a network of 16 other large and small bodegas in the Barrio Alto, the High Quarter of Sanlucar de Barrameda. They are constantly innovating and experimenting, be it with red or sparkling wines or within the Manzanilla world, as they were the first to bottle Manzanilla en rama (unfiltered) back in 1999, doing four sacas (bottlings) per year, one during each season, which they sell in half bottles with labels that clearly identify the saca and year. Other than that, their range is pretty exhaustive, from entry level wines, through VORS and an exclusive Reliquia range from the oldest, family-owned botas, some of them containing wines averaging 80 to 100 years old. As a curiosity, they probably stock more Palo Cortado than any other winery (on earth),120 casks, as the famous Toto Barbadillo had an obsession with that category and purchased all he could get his hands on. I had a great visit there with winemaker Montse Molina who arrived in Sanlucar from her native Cataluna 15 years ago and she has not looked back since. Tasting wines from the bota, listening to a knowledgeable winemaker and realizing how different and how complex the wines are is one of the pleasures one should experience at least once in a lifetime.

Gonzalez Byass is one of the greatest, historical names in Sherry (and Brandy), as well as the largest in Jerez, and the Tio Pepe brand and image one of the icons of Spain, and the best selling Fino in the world stored in an impressive solera of 30,000 botas. Gonzales-Byass was founded in Jerez in 1835 by 23-year-old entrepreneur Manuel Maria Gonzalez, who exported the first cask of Tio Pepe to London in 1844. Gonzalez was advised by an uncle of his, a man called Jose Angel de la Pena. Uncle Jose had a small bodega with his own solera of Fino, which had direct access to the street as he liked to come and go as he fancied. People called Jose are often nicknamed Pepe in Spain, so the solera of uncle Jose (tio means uncle), or uncle Pepe gave name to the famous Tio Pepe brand. The original bodega del Tio Pepe still exists, is in use today, and in fact holds some of the best botas of Tio Pepe Fino. Gonzalez took different partners, and the company changed names a number of times, like Manuel Maria Gonzalez & Cia or Gonzalez & Dubosc. In 1855, the year the people of Bordeaux were really busy making the classification of their chateaux, Gonzalez sold some company shares to his importers and distributors in the UK, Robert Blake Byass. The name of the company was definitely set to Gonzalez Byass & Co., which has been kept till the present day. Today the fifth generation of the Gonzalez family still own and manage the company. Through the years the company and its holdings have been greatly expanded, and the winery today is akin to a small town of 37 hectares, as it has incorporated some of the streets that connected the different bodegas, La Constancia, La Concha (a unique round bodega attributed to Gustav Eiffel), Los Apostoles, La Cuadrada, and the more recent Gran Bodega Tio Pepe, Las Copas or Marques de Bonanza. As a curiosity, if you visit their premises you?????ll be able to see the largest working weathervane on earth, in the shape of a bottle of Tio Pepe!

"Firm, fresh and complex, with an array of glazed apricot, ginger, maple and cream flavors. Features notes of truffle and mineral on the crisp finish. Drink now. 200 cases imported." Wine Spectator

Light and fruity, with a slightly nutty character. Medium body and sweetness, with a light, silky finish. - WS81

Good medium-deep red. Aromas of red fruits, tar and smoked meat. Fat, lush and sweet; flavors of black cherry and earth. Slightly fiery but persistent back end. - IWC87

With flavors of dried figs, apricots and crushed hazlenuts, this tawny port -- a blend of mostly old vintages with a few more recent annums blended in to liven things up a bit -- manages to purport richness on the palate, but with a fresh, fine finish that feels deliciously bright instead of weighty. We love this with a post-meal plate of salty, nutty cheeses and nuts, or served slightly chilled for a pre-dinner appetite rev. -- PJ

What: Pedro Ximenez

Where: Sherry, Spain

Why: Because for the money this is one of the most intense PX?????s we?????ve ever tasted. Why? Lets start with honeyed raisins, oranges and almonds. Then there?????s chocolate and coffee and figs. But that?????s just the sugar talking. After those candied notes hit you they give way to salt, herbs, coffee grounds, tar and licorice. The flavor show does not stop... ever.

Sunflower yeast is used during brewing.

This layered sweet wine displays a deep, glossy brown color and is truly indulgent. The nose features raisin, pumpkin pie spice, tobacco leaf and pure sugar cane notes. The palate is rich, expansive and beautifully balanced with honeyed, almost milk chocolatey raisin and smoke flavors. It is a very long and elegant PX and finishes with expressive coffee, tea leaf and buttered popcorn tones. Fantastic with blue cheese, toasted nuts, dried fruit, poured over vanilla ice cream or for something truly decadent, pair it with chocolate glazed doughnuts, sticky buns or Paris-Brest pastry. - PJ

Oxidative aging. Criaderas and solera system for a period of 4-6 years in oak barrels .

Dense ruby/purple-colored, with an exotic, exuberant perfume of black fruits, flowers, incense, and licorice, this unctuously-textured, full-bodied port is one of the most concentrated of the vintage. Sweet, expansive, and succulent, this large-scaled, but remarkably well-balanced effort is surprisingly forward and accessible... - WA95

What's so lovely about Dow's non-vintage tawny is how wonderfully bouyant it is. Sure, it's got the intense, concentrated, succulent, dried-fruit sweetness you expect in an after-dinner sipper, but there are lovely notes of orange citrus and almond here that keep it aloft on your palate, and nicely complement a hunk of Asiago or Fontina cheese. -- PJ

"Vintage" sherries are static ageing wines and are rare within the DO of Jerez. For this reason, wines of outstanding quality can be considered one-of-a-kind and are highly sought after. The 2016 release is only the second vintage of this wine. For the 2016 vintage, Valdespino set aside 30 casks which were sealed to comply with the requirements of the DO regulatory council for vintage classification. In October of 2023, the winemaking team assessed the 30 casks and selected 12 which showed exceptional characteristics to make the final blend for bottling. That bottling took place in April of 2024 and was done "en rama" - meaning it was bottled without fining or filtering.

Pago de Miraflores is the 'grand cru' of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Pago Miraflores is the most important "hill" of the zone and is responsible for the top Manzanillas. The location is inland enough to have pure albariza (chalk-based soils) and high enough to still get the cool winds from the ocean along with a touch of salt in the air. Top producers of the zone make Manzanillas, Vinos de Pasto and still whites from this top Pago.

#66 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2022.

96 points Wine Spectator
This is really vivid, with a beautiful range of cassis, cherry pur??e, boysenberry coulis and plum reduction notes unfurling across the palate while succulent licorice, warm fruitcake and enticing red and black tea notes sing back up. The long, refined finish has plenty in reserve for the long haul. One of the stars of the vintage. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Alicante Bouschet and Tinta Amarela. Best from 2040 through 2060.

"Firm, fresh and complex, with an array of glazed apricot, ginger, maple and cream flavors. Features notes of truffle and mineral on the crisp finish. Drink now. 200 cases imported." Wine Spectator