Gómez Nevado Sierra Moreno “Dorado” Seco (Andalucía) — Acid-washed razors in sun-parched sand. All diagonals and slashing wounds. Punishingly brilliant. (4/16)
andalucía
Xim or xer
Toro Albalá 2003 Pedro Ximénez (Montilla-Moriles) – Caramel, brown sugar, and motor oil. Very sticky and ungodly sweet, even beyond the wine’s usual clutch and pander, and almost impossible to clear from one’s palate. I mean, it’s incredibly impressive, and I guess accomplished in the sense that it is unquestionably achieving what it sets out to achieve, but… (10/06)
Up & up
Alvear Montilla-Moriles Oloroso “Asuncion” (Andalucía) – Very intense, full of old spice and dried-out dates, both hollowed out by the antiquing of ultra-aged wood (I’m not talking about the winemaking here, but the organoleptics). Peppery complexities and a fuller, almost fruit-related character add to the finish. Very interesting. (5/08)
Rendezvous
Alvear 2003 Montilla-Moriles Fino “En Rama” (Andalucía) – This is a richer, bigger style of fino; not heavy, but intense, with a little more salt and slightly rancid nut oil (maybe a personal thing) than usual. Enjoyable. (5/08)
Poe’s 7th
Alvear Montilla-Moriles Amontillado “Carlos VII” (Andalucía) – Big and a little bit heated, showing almond, old candle, dry gray soil, and a clipped finish. Damaged, perhaps? (5/08)
Especially for you
Ordoñez & co. 2004 Málaga Moscatel “Seleccion Especial” (Andalucía) – Intense. A warm expression of pure muscat, taking flowers strongly into the realm of orange blossom, and adding a thick, powerful backbeat of spice and warming body. Not complex, but then muscat is far too primary and boisterous to allow much complexity in the vast majority of its expressions. (5/08)
TN: Better red than dead
Lustau Tintilla de Rota (Andalucía) – I think I’ve had this wine more often as a party trick (“hee-hee, it’s ‘red Sherry’”) (even though it’s really not) than as an actual beverage, so it’s nice to contemplate it a little more seriously. Candied red fruit – think Christmas cakes of various sorts – with a touch of tannin and a lot of tooth-abrading sweetness. It’s good in very tiny sips, but I wouldn’t want to drink much of it. Perhaps it’s better as a party trick after all. (1/07)
TN: Angel of the evening
Lustau “Almacenista” Oloroso Sherry “Angel Zamorano” (Andalucía) – Restrained, whole-spice-box dust with concentrated burnt-nut tones and a moderate, but persistent, sweetness. Like oloroso through gauze, almost. It’s lovely and very easy to drink, but at this price I’d expect something a little more striking. Something with a little more verve. (1/07)