1956 Toro Albala Don PX Convento Seleccion, Montilla-Moriles Andalucia

16.5% ABV. The 1956 Don PX Convento Selección has a smoky note of coal, bitter chocolate and licorice and, with time, becomes creamier, with echoes of milk chocolate and café au lait, with a clearly lactic/creamy note. It has 16.5% alcohol and 390 grams of sugar. It's thick and dense, complex, with flavors of licorice, powder cocoa, hot chocolate and dark raisins. Apparently, the barrels were never moved from the same, cooler part of their cellars where the wine matured for over 65 years. This is elegant and nuanced; it gives more pleasure than the 1943, but it's not necessarily better. 3,850 numbered bottles were produced. It was bottled in November 2023.

97 points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate 

From a truly historic corner of the Toro Albalá cellars, the 1956 Don PX Convento Selección is drawn from ancient casks where Pedro Ximénez has been slowly evolving for decades. Sun dried grapes, time and careful ageing have transformed this into something far beyond a sweet wine, it feels more like a concentrated essence of fruit, wood and air shaped over generations.

The aromatics are immense and deeply layered, raisin, fig and date wrapped in molasses, espresso and dark chocolate, with burnt orange peel giving lift. With this level of age, the tertiary spectrum takes over, walnut, antique wood, old leather and a profound rancio character that adds savoury depth and complexity.

It moves slowly, thick and luxurious, coating the glass and unfolding in waves. The sweetness is powerful but beautifully controlled, balanced by a gentle bitterness and a thread of freshness that keeps it alive. Toffee, coffee, caramelised nuts and spice seem to stretch on endlessly through the finish.

This is a wine for reflection. Blue cheese is a natural partner, but it is just as compelling with roasted nuts, dark chocolate or simply enjoyed on its own in small pours at the end of a meal.

Fully mature and in extraordinary condition, it will hold for years once opened if stored carefully.