91 Points!   The NV Manzanilla 5/41 had a strong medicinal, somehow chemical note, pungent that some would also describe as plastic (deor can be positive or negative depending on how you take them, the guys talking about plastic were really enthusiastic about it!), and there was also something herbal and minty that made it very diffe ...read more

96 Points!  The NV Tradicion Amontillado VORS, certainly has the more complex and subtle nose of all these VORS and is on average 45 years old. It has a very clean nose, with elegance and complexity, powerful but subtle notes of hazelnuts, honey and even some dates. The medium-bodied palate shows a sharp wine with strong salinity, it has  ...read more

93 Points!  There are two yearly bottlings of the NV Fino Viejo Tradición, one in the spring and another one in the autumn, sometimes marked with the month and sometimes with the season. This one specified Primavera 2016 (spring 2016) must have been recently bottled (or even just before bottling). I had three different bottlings to ...read more

95 Points!  The single vintage wines are different, but they are not necessarily better than the solera wines. In fact I preferred the Oloroso VORS to the two single-vintage; I found it more complex and fluid, while the single vintages were more concentrated and powerful, but not as nuanced. I’m talking about the NV Tradicion Oloros ...read more

94 Points!  The NV Palo Cortado Tradicion VORS, averages 32 years of age, which they consider the correct age for Palo Cortado, so it is not just an old Sherry. Light amber-colored, the nose has a sweet sensation, apricots, and almonds but then the mouth is very dry and saline, fine and light, with flavors of hazelnut, a little varnish, v ...read more

99 Points!  Another wine that but for the Amontillado 49 would be a candidate for a perfect score, the NV La Bota de Palo Cortado Bota NO 47 is an extremely old Palo Cortado most probably from a good vineyard within the Pago Miraflores in Sanlúcar and made at a time when the musts were fermented in barrel. This wine is now around 8 ...read more

93 Points!  The non-vintage Dry Amontillado Los Arcos Solera Reserva reveals a medium amber hue along with a nutty, honeyed, dry personality with great acid. - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate #202, 2012

96 Points!  A mind-blowing sherry is the non-vintage Palo Cortado Peninsula Solera Reserva. Like all Lustau sherries except for the East India, it is made from the Palomino varietal. A dry, crisp, full-throttle, intense sherry offering incredibly complex, nutty aromas, it represents a style that falls between the Amontillado and the more  ...read more

95 Points! The NV Amontillado 51-1A VORS, from a solera created in 1830 has a bright amber color. Intensely aromatic, with a nose full of balsamic notes (rosemary, thyme) intermixed with some smoke, spices, noble woods and hazelnuts. The intense, complex and complete palate shows great elegance and finesse, with a bitter orange and saline fini ...read more

94 Points! The NV Sibarita Oloroso VORS is produced with Palomino grapes, balanced with 2% of Pedro Ximenez, something quite common to polish the edges of very old wines, in a solera created in 1792. It has a dark mahogany color, and the nose shows some toffee notes intermixed with roasted coffee, tar, ash and incense. The palate shows goo ...read more

Sweet price on this one since the name appears to clash with another (ahem) larger producer of fine wines.  A delightful bone-dry white from the chalky soils of Sherry country! Not a Sherry, this wine comes from the great Macharnudo vineyard of which the entire top section is owned by Valdespino.  Valdespino has been vinifying different parcels of Macharnudo to see which parcel would make the best unfortified still wine and they found it in the parcel named “Ojo de Gallo”.  The soil is pure chalk (albariza) planted to 100% Palomino. Six monthsin steel, ...read more