1931 Toro Albala, Don PX Convento Seleccion, Montilla-Moriles

If someone told you they kept a wine for 84 years in barrel before bottling, you'd think they are nuts, right? Well, that's what the folks at Toro Albalá in Aguilar de la Frontera - in the province of Cordoba, part of the Montilla Moriles appellation - did with their 1931 Don PX Convento Selección. This is part of what they call 'vinos olvidados,' which means 'forgotten wines.' The border is amber, with green tints that denote very old age. Such old age provides an array of unusual aromas and flavors, including iodine and salt that compensate the sweetness (403 grams) and even the alcohol (18%). It's terribly balsamic, with notes of dry herbs and spices, cigar ash, carob beans (algarrobas), incense and noble woods. The palate is very, very sweet and concentrated, unctuous, dense, with a chewy texture. This goes beyond a glass of wine, a drop of it is like having a piece of cake. I don't think this reaches the complexity and depth of the 1946, which remains the benchmark for these old sweet PX, but it's truly terrific! 9,650 bottles were filled in June 2015.

100% Pedro Ximénez. Static ageing. Pricey but prized. A treasure. Roasted coffee, there is a nail-varnish impression and it smells of great age, nobility, chocolate and raisins. Super-sharp! It is very old, but well crafted. Very sweet too but iodised and concentrated in acidity at the same time, so it achieves great balance. Drinkable, deep, exciting, a never-ending wine. Ashes in the aftertaste and very long finish! It is like drinking archaeology. (FC)