NV 1905 Pedro Ximenez Solera Fundacional

The NV 1905 Pedro Ximénez Solera Fundacional Lot B 2016 is nothing short of spectacular. Black, opaque, dense and thick as (used) motor oil, it just tints the glass and sticks to its sides with brown chocolate-colored tears and a complex nose full of spices (clove, nutmeg), tobacco, balsamic aromas (old furniture, incense, wet ebony wood) and a core of bitter Belgian chocolate from the best chocolatiers you can think of (and I can think of Pierre Marcolini!). There is something reminiscent of the old traditional acetos from Módena, from that long aging in wood (it's around 80/90 years of average age) with a dense palate that is not that sweet after all, and even has a savory (cracked peppercorns), tasty component that makes it very complete - a dessert on its own. It has balance within its powerful and concentrated style, which is the key to greatness here. This is 11.5% alcohol, which greatly contributes to its harmony and balance. You would never guess the 525 grams of sugar it has; the acidity is also concentrated, reaching the 6.13 grams (measured in tartaric acid). This will keep forever, even when you crack the bottle open. 1,000 bottles were filled in January 2016.

From the oldest soleras of the house, the NV 1905 Pedro Ximenez Solera Fundacional, could average around 80 years old. Pitch black, dense and almost solid, the fragrant aromatics offer scents of burnt sugar, toffee, petrol, bitter orange marmalade, and balsamic (mint). Very complex, velvety, and harmonious, with a long and balanced finish, this is one of the best PXs of Andalucia, and therefore among the greatest sweet wines in the world. Drink 2013-2030. Perez Barquero was established in 1905 and still have some soleras from that time, the foundational soleras, from which very small quantities of extremely old and concentrated wines are withdrawn and bottled from time to time. In 1985 it was purchased by Rafael Cordoba who owns other three wineries in Montilla, Bodegas Gracia (from which I tasted one wine here), Vinicola del Sur and Tomas Garcia, and the four make up the Perez Barquero Group. They own 100 hectares of vineyards in some of the best locations in the appellation, in Sierra de Montilla and in Moriles Alto, planted with a majority of Pedro Ximenez, and control a further 400 hectares of vineyards belonging to other grape growers. With this they produce an impressive array of both dry and sweet wines (plus brandy and vinegar), whose main characteristic is balance, elegance and finesse. They stock 10,000 500- to 600-liter American oak barrels, the famous botas where they age their wines following the soleras and criaderas system. They produce an average of three million bottles of wine per year. Perez Barquero represents the quality summit of Montilla-Moriles. Their Finos usually have a lot number, whose first two digits seem to be the bottling year. All the Finos tasted had a lot starting with 13. The oldest wines, the ones labeled 1905, which is the year their soleras were created, were only bottled once in 2002, around 1,000 bottles of each, so the bottles should be decanted in advance to give the wines the chance to breath. Imported by A. Hardy’s USA, www.ahardyusa.com