NV La Bota de Olorosso No 78 Viejisimo
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'Viejisimo de Chiclana’ – the wine is about 80 years old on average. Half-bottle. A transparent greenish-orange antique! Hard work and lots of acid on end. Too demanding, too concentrated and bitter. Not my style. But historically significant, I suppose. I’d prefer it as a very minor ingredient in a blend… (JR)
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Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
As they run out of 98 pretty quickly, they soon bottled a similar NV La Bota de Oloroso Bota NO 108, another butt from the same group, which has a more civilized nose, with hints of orange and somehow gentler (relatively speaking) and polished. Each barrel is different and the wines are so old, so this specific one seems to have a softer personality but is still pungent and powerful. These wines, as they are aged in Trebujena, cannot be labeled as sherry, but in the future that should change. They filled 1,200 half bottles in October 2021.
Bottled October 2017. Deep browny gold. Not as concentrated on the nose as the Amontillado 73 so that the alcohol is a little more noticeable. This is all walnut and polished wood, mushroom and beef tea. The concentration on the palate is remarkable, making this a demanding wine. The salty bitterness is not unpleasant but it is the edge of extremity and doesn’t have quite the fruit of the 73 Amontillado. Searingly dry and with what seems to be high acidity. Incredibly dense on the palate with notes of coffee and beef tea – really salty/savoury. Quite spectacular but sip with care. The flavour lingers eternally. (JH)
Bottled October 2017. It is a winemaking tradition in Andalusia to mark several casks of particular quality with a ‘NO’, keeping them apart from the seasonal sacas that are at the core of the solera system. As a consequence, such wines become more and more concentrated and old. This is the case of this bota NO, old Oloroso. The selected cask for this wine belongs to a solera of 12 butts known as Vintage 1809, which has not been on the market for many decades. Documents from the 19th century mention this Oloroso as one of the oldest and best wines of the house. Light browny gold. The alcohol shows here – the first wine in this line-up where it has. Smells of bitter toffee and walnut skin. Viscous, dark-toffeed on the finish with a bitter-toffee aftertaste. Coffee too, starting to show some bitterness with the increasing concentration. Just on the edge. Swings between reduced apricots and a more umami salty flavour. Super-concentrated. Impressive but not as much pleasure as the previous few wines. Unbelievably intense – should carry a health warning. Quite spirity. Maybe for malt-whisky drinkers. Eye-watering. (JH)