2002 Toro Albala Don PX Half Bottle 375ml, Andalucia

I tasted the 2002 Don PX, which has 17% alcohol and 399 grams of sugar and seems denser and more concentrated than the 1999 I tasted next to it. They are all different degrees or declinations of similar aromas and flavors, such as dates, raisins, coffee and espresso coffee. This comes through as balanced and tasty, not too sweet.

93+ points Luis Gutiérrez robertparker.com

n.b. Labels may differ

Toro Albalá reserves select lots of their best vintage wines for later release. These rich and complex Pedro Ximénez wines are destined for very long aging in oak barrels. After filling and sealing, these barrels are left in their single-vintage state for decades. During this slow maturation, the wines undertake their delicious, savoury, rancio transformation through controlled exposure to oxygen. This brings a nutty, iodine character that infinitely complexes the sweet, fruit-cakey wine and, counter-intuitively, brings more freshness. Naturally, as the wines concentrate in flavour and texture, the colour darkens and mouthfeel thickens. Vintages are selected for release after a minimum of 20 years in barrel and only when they have attained these classic hallmarks of aged Toro Albalá, which recommends serving this wine between 10 and 12ºC.