Tuesday 17 May 2016

Amontillado Olvidado 1/5 20%, Sánchez Romate

Appearance
Pure amber with old gold highlights and a faint trace of green at the rim, legs.
Nose
Aromatic and refined with lots of toasted almonds and hazelnuts and a gentle implicit sweetness balancing with hints of oak and traces of cinnamon. Very clean and elegant, this is obviously very old yet it has a trace of crispness from the volatile acidity which makes it fresh, and there's an almost complete absence of austerity. Everything is in perfect harmony.
Palate
Crispness and a gentle grip from the wood tannin are balanced by just enough glycerol to make it fresh, intense nuttiness, extremely elegant with a very long clean finish. Tangy and delicious, this is a classic Amontillado, perfectly weighted and balanced.
Comments
"Olvidado" means forgotten, and this rare wine comes from 5 toneles (double-sized butts of 1,000 litres) which are effectively "botas no" connected with the old Amontillado solera, and have not been refreshed for some 25 years, allowing the wine to develop much further. The result is a fabulous old Amontillado which would surely qualify as VORS if the bodega believed in the system. It was hand bottled en rama in October 2015, and another saca is not foreseen for at least two years, unfortunately.
Price
Around 18 euros per half bottle, but almost unobtainable except from the UK Wine Society £16


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