Toro Albalá Poley Palo Cortado En Rama 25 Años 500ml, Andalucia

Names have changed and all labels are new; they are all named Poley and have a reference to the number of average years the wines have spent in the solera, like the NV Poley Palo Cortado en Rama Solera 25 Años a Palo Cortado, which has 20% alcohol and 25 years of average age. It's nutty, spirity and peachy, with a touch of varnish and a sleek palate, pungent and moderately bitter, very pleasant to drink.

93 points Luis Gutiérrez robertparker.com

Like all Sherry-style wines in Montilla-Moriles, even the dry ones, this Palo Cortado is made from Pedro Ximénez grapes. It starts as a Fino, then becomes Amontillado as the flor dies and evolves towards Palo Cortado as the character of the oxidative aging becomes stronger. You could say this wine is selected from the heavier, darker casks of Amontillado.

Bottled unfiltered with an average of 25 years, it opens with intense aromas of tobacco leaves, walnut and hazelnut underpinned by pepper, clove spice, and notes of orange peel. The palate is dry with citrus peel and roasted nuts, joined by a super-fine, moreish savoury texture. It finishes salty and intense. It deserves the best jamón you can get your hands on.