Wine Type: Fortified

(2025) The colour here darkest of all, into nutty brown tones with a hint of ruby. Here, fruitiness is subsumed under spice and cedar, dried fruits, nuts and some sous-bois character. A more comtemplative style, the palate is easily the glycerine richest of the range, slippery in texture and unctuous, with coffee and caramel underpinning and warming the whole fireside picture, though a sweet depth of fruits, dried and mellow, joins excellent acidity. A distinctive style.

(2025) A similar chestnut colour to the Verdelho, there is a lovely figgy richness to this, and underpinning of mocha coffee and the expected nutty tones. But that fruit quality - fig and quince - is evident. Sweet on the palate, but not tasting dramatically moreso than the Verdelho for me, due to the fine acid core and the taut nature of this wine, smooth and elegant into the finish.

(2025) A little deeper and more chestnut in colour compared to the Sercial, this doesn't quite have that wine's aromatic fireworks, more subdued and nutty, with a deep sheen of polished wood. In the mouth it is noticeably sweeter and has a ripe feeling to the fruit, which is more forward than in the Sercial, more unctuous, with classically fine citrus acidity slicing through the finish.

(2025) Pouring a realtively pale tobacco brown colour, this has a delightful nose of citrus - Seville orange mostly - with nuttiness and that bready, yeasty lift that is so appealling. In the mouth it is definitely not 'dry dry', but the unctuous flavours that run from butterscotch to rich coffee have a depth of sweetness that is then cut by a sweep of acidity that certainly freshens and cleanses the finish. The warming nutty tones are there of course, but a delightful, balanced and long wine that's certainly on the dry side.

(2025) Not that much darker than the 50 Years White, but with more of a ruby hue to the colour. The nose again has that lovely, mellow, burnished character of nuttiness and dark mollases and raisins. But again, there is a freshness suggested by some citrus and a lifted, light shellac character. In the mouth sweet with 129 g/l of sugar, and more mellow and arguably more simple than the white. It is absolutely delicious, warming as it finishes between spice, toffee and that freshness.

(2025) Pouring a deep, burnished gold, this is an instantly powerful wine aromatically. Soaring from the glass are wonderfully warming aromas of walnut and toffee, a yeasty breadiness, some lemon and glycerine and hints of old polished furniture. With just over 100g/l of resudual sugar this has sweetness, really quite unctuous with caramel and fudge, but that vibrancy of lemon fruit is remarkable. Intense, golden raisin depth marries with coffee and chocolate in the finish, powered by perfect acidity and the golden richness of age.

(2024) If you have tried Noval's LBV before you are in for a treat: unflitered and aged five years in casks, the fruit (Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Sousão) comes from their own vineyard and is trodden by foot in traditional lagares. It has a heavenly nose, spices and intense floral and dried fruit notes combine with juicier blueberry and a hint of dark cocoa. The palate is powerful and structured, framed by powdery tannins but abundantly sweet with 90g/l of residual sugar it seems endlessly long. This will also cellar for a decade or more. Watch the video for more information.

(2024) Not Sherry, but a solera-aged Pedro Ximénez from a family that produced its first fortified PX wine in the 1940s. Perhaps slightly lighter in colour than a typical Spanish version - nut brown rather than mahogany brown - it pours with engine oil thickness and gloriously sweet and luscious aromas of fig, raisin and walnut, a delicate rancio character adding a layer of intrigue. In the mouth super-sweet and mouth-filling, really all about the sweet and unctuous flavour rather than massive complexity, but utterly delicious.

(2024) From  the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, this is made in a traditional solera, seeing eight years of ageing minimum. 'En Rama' indicates that it is bottled without fining or filtration, and ‘Pasada’ indicates a longer ageing than is usual for Manzanilla. I have to say it is utterly delicious. It is a burnished yellow/gold colour and has the ozone and salty tang of Manzanilla, but a wonderfully creamy hazelnut and almond sheen too. Complex yeasty notes from the long ageing under flor add pungent layers of chamomile, bruised fruit and intrigue. Full, textured, more nuttiness and a certain meaty, umami character in the mouth, it has fabulous length and sparkling acidity. The £15.99 price for a full 75cl bottle at Carrington Wines at time of review is very good - half bottles are selling for £11 - £13 quite widely.

(2024) There are tasting notes on just over 20,000 wines in wine-pages database. This wine is only the second to score a maximum 100 points. Why? The wine does not come from a solera, but is believed to be a single vintage wine. It was generously poured by a friend at a fine wine dinner who told me its story. The private cellar in Funchal of the late Gil Borges Acciaioly was inherited by his sons. This wine, finally bottled some time in the 1940s or 50s, is believed to have been stored in sealed glass demi-johns after its long barrel ageing, which will have helped preserve it. It is made from Terrantez and, dating from 223 years ago, becomes the oldest wine I have tasted by some 80 years. The colour is nut brown, and the impression is of such soulful, dark and polished aromas, followed by a palate that sparks into vibrant life, plenty of pin-sharp acidity to complement the aged richness, with literally perfect balance and length. I did not write formal notes - I decided just to enjoy the moment in this surely once in a lifetime experience. The last bottle I can find that was sold at auction fetched £2,600, but that was in 2017. I believe if a bottle appears on the market today, a price of around $20,000 is expected. An extraordinary experience and such a generous sharing of a wine.