Alvear "1927 Solera" Pedro Ximenez Solera Montilla-Moriles (375ml)

The NV Pedro Ximénez Solera 1927 (L1 190) is deep amber-hued and delivers a powerful nose of ripe plums, caramelized figs, toffee, espresso roast, and white chocolate that opens up beautifully with time in the glass. This carries to a powerful, decadent monster of a dessert wine that has balancing acidity, terrific overall balance, and a finish that won't quit. It's a standalone (maybe with a cigar) dessert wine that will probably live forever.

I’ll admit I am a little biased but this could be one of the best dessert wines that we have for sale, especially for the money. We have sold these wines for years, they are great. But like all things wines, we tend to look for all things new, so we end up forgetting. Then we meet them again, with a few more miles (who am I kidding many more miles) down the road. This wine was a revelation. It smells like dessert. Not the bright fresh fruit of other dessert wines. This is holiday bake sale kind of dessert. Molasses and fudge and spices with toffee and caramel. Rum cakes, sticky toffee pudding with concentrated dates and fig thing too. The kid in me is totally satisfied. Then comes savory intrigue. This is not all sweetness. There is tobacco and dried leaves (it makes me think of jumping in piles of leaves, dried leaves). Just enough to layer all of the goodness that came before it. And that is just the nose! Too many words, I know, stay with me, or skip to the end, there is a twist. On the palate it is sweet, its PX, but surprisingly (not the twist) is that it is not cloying. The aromas make you think that your tongue will be coated in syrupy goodness. It isn’t there is a freshness to this, the acid focuses all those great aromas/flavors across your tongue and leaves your mouth watering for more. Classically drunk by itself after dinner or on top of vanilla ice cream, but I want chocolate pecan pie, a la mode. The twist, here it is, is that what this wine made me think of when tasting it was Amaro liqueurs. This is kind of like a non-bitter Amaro. The complexity and the sweetness balanced with savory tones and the higher alcohol it is not too far of a reach. This has tons of cocktail applications. Being oxidized and fortified sealed the deal for me. This is a dessert wine that you do not have to rush to finish. A little is all that you need and it will not fall apart after you open it. Like I said, this could be the best dessert win in the store.