NV La Bota de Amontillado No 73 Bota Aniversario
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From the same cask number 8 of Pérez Barquero’s bodega Los Amigos, together with its sister the tonel number 3, in order to complete the contents of a whole bota without emptying either of them. Its average age is difficult to establish, but certainly older than 50 years. From some of the oldest casks of this producer, belonging to the set of primitive soleras of the house. Bottled April 2017. Deep glowing orangey gold. Intense bitter-orange and roasted-apricot aromas, non-sweet dark toffee, together with more volatile notes of wood polish and something sour that I cannot quite put my finger on. And there’s a touch of dried grasses and wild flowers, long ago pressed into a sort of dustiness. The concentration here is almost too much – but I say almost. You have to take this in very tiny sips to appreciate that salty bitter-orange flavour tied up with a more savoury umami mushroom quality. It is almost impossible to spit – not simply because it is captivating but it just adheres to your all sides of your mouth because of its concentration. Bone dry and goes on for ever. (JH)
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Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
A traditional wine from Andalucía. Its average age is difficult to establish, but certainly older than fifty years old. This wine has been sourced from some of the oldest casks of this producer, belonging to the set of primitive soleras of the house. Bottled April 2017. Light browny gold. Tangy, savoury and nutty, with a salty/umami cast. Complex and intense, non-sweet bitter toffee, burnt apricots. Eye-watering intensity and, like the Bota 78, so concentrated it is starting to be a little bitter and almost too salty. I could imagine this would benefit from a hard tangy cheese as it is almost too intense to drink on its own. Just on the right side of concentration/bitterness to still give pleasure rather than simply impress. (JH)
Navazos releases a super-old wine from time to time, and this time it's the turn of an Amontillado from Montilla-Moriles, produced with Pedro Ximénez grapes and sourced from the Pérez Barquero winery. It's presented as NV La Bota de Amontillado 73 “Bota Aniversario.” These old wines are always very concentrated and powerful, and the challenge here is to find one that is balanced. A similar wine was bottled as La Bota 26 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the project, but it was never sold and instead was used for gifts for the core of Navazos customers from the bota 1. That 26 was taken from the bota 'No', and this 73, in order to not empty cask number 8 (the bota 'no'), was blended with cask number 3. Despite being bottled with some 21% alcohol, this wine is supposedly not fortified, and the alcoholic degree is achieved by pure evaporation and concentration through old age. This is getting the character of a very old wine, with hints of rusty nails and noble woods, a volatile touch and lots of nut notes. The palate is powerful, with volume, sharpness, elegance, intensity and a very long finish with echoes of low tide and rusty nails. A unique wine. 1,100 half bottles produced.