1984 Toro Albala Don PX Seleccion 200ml, Montilla-Moriles Andalucia

The 1984 Don PX Selección has tons of cinnamon and vanilla. It was supposed to be a 20-year-old wine, but it shows unusual finesse and complexity, and they kept it apart and gave it a longer élevage. There is a perfumed and floral note here too, reminiscent of violets, but with time, the dark chocolate dominates the nose. The wine is produced with raisins that have been sun dried, pressed and fortified and kept for two years in concrete, during which time it was fortified to reach the desired alcohol, because they feel it gets better integrated that way. Later, the wine matured in ancient American oak casks, where it aged for decades. It has 16% alcohol and 385 grams of sugar, dense and sweet with a bitter note of dark chocolate in the finish. It was bottled in December 2023.

97 points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate

Drawn from sun baked Pedro Ximénez grapes and aged for decades in Montilla Moriles, Don PX Selección 1984 is one of those wines that feels closer to a liquid memory than a simple drink. Toro Albalá, founded in 1922, has built its reputation on these extraordinary long aged sweet wines, where time, oxidation and concentration create something deeply complex and almost timeless.

The aromatics are instantly captivating, raisin, fig and date layered with molasses, coffee, dark chocolate and a hint of orange peel. There is a richness here that feels almost endless, yet it carries a surprising sense of lift.

It moves slowly and luxuriously, thick, viscous and intensely flavoured, but never cloying. Sweetness is balanced by a gentle bitterness and a thread of freshness, giving shape and keeping everything in check. Flavours of toffee, espresso, caramelised nuts and dried fruit build and linger, the finish stretching out with incredible persistence.

This is a wine to savour, not rush. Pour it with blue cheese, a dark chocolate tart, or something as simple as vanilla ice cream where it becomes the sauce. It also works beautifully with roasted figs or even on its own at the end of a meal.

Fully mature and in a perfect place, it will hold for years once opened if stored well.

There’s a sense of indulgence here, but also precision, a wine that shows just how extraordinary patience and tradition can be.