Thursday 12 February 2015

Palo Cortado Solera PΔP VORS 22%, Osborne

Appearance
Deep blacky walnutty amber with a trace of mahogany fading through amber to a trace of green at the rim, legs.
Nose
Impressive, full and multi-faceted. Lots of vanilla and a hint of spice from the American oak, then hints of caramel, cinnamon, nuts - mainly toasted almonds - dried fruits and Oxford marmalade. Quite sweet, beautifully integrated and incredibly refined, a most attractive and complex nose.
Palate
Medium-sweet, super-smooth and textured with hints of marmalade, cinnamon, nuts and oak all perfectly balanced. The age of the wine gives it a certain acidity and tannic grip, but the PX content irons that out and makes it really delicious. It is amazingly easy to drink despite all its age and complexity, and an absolute pleasure
Comments
From a tiny solera laid down in 1911 and stored in the bodega La Honda, this wine is well over 30 years old. Wines which have spent so long in wood can often have astringent qualities from oak extraction, and need a little gentle "improvement". This one - like many others - has had some PX added (8%) to balance out that astringency, but which was blended in from the start. Some wines have very little, only enough to hide the wood, but others, such as this one make a feature of it. The result is a medium to medium- sweet Palo Cortado which is a bit of a rarity. This solera was established from six butts destined for England which were forgotten. P is for Palo Cortado, Delta represents the Sherry triangle, and the second P represents El Puerto de Santa Maria. Releases are very limited, and this was bottle number 28 of 223 drawn in 2013.
Price
Available (occasionally) in 50 cl bottles. Around £140 for a 50 cl. Not available in UK.








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