Description
REVIEWS
“[Toro Albalá]… own 45-ha of vines and may be small, but the wines are exemplary. The international fame of the bodega probably rests on the quality of its fabulous old PX dulces, including legendary vintage wines…” John Radford, The New Spain
“Above all, [Antonio] Sánchez’s philosophy is to showcase the appellation of Montilla-Moriles. He achieves this not only through the sweet Pedro Ximénez wines for which the region is famous, but through other traditionally-styled wines of notable class and character.” Liem and Barquín, Sherry, Manzanilla and Montilla
TASTING NOTES
Founded in 1844, Toro Albalá is arguably the most important producer of Pedro Ximenez in the world today, with the finest vineyard holdings in Montilla (the region for Pedro) as well as the oldest, “legendary” stocks. Toro Albalá was the first Montilla producer to commercialize bottled, dessert-styled Pedro Ximénez in 1970, and remains the world’s only specialist in 100% vintage PX.
The key to understanding Toro Albalá’s reputation lies in their ability to balance the extraordinary sun-ripened richness and depth of old vine P.X. with a bright, savoury quality, which never allows the wines to veer into the cloying end of the spectrum. This is managed though strict quality control that few in the region can—or are willing to—match, from the old vines and great soils, through to their very long aging process. Additionally, one of the many eccentricities of this producer is their rare vintage-only P.X. wines (the overwhelming majority of P.X. bottlings are blends).
Toro Albalá’s offering isn’t limited to their P.X nectar. Back in the 19th century, when Toro Albalá’s forefather Antonio Sánchez Prieto first started to produce and age wines in La Noria, his emphasis was mostly on Fino wines. This is a tradition kept bang up to date by Toro Albalá’s popular unfortified wine—the Fino en rama Eléctrico (bottled in the wonderfully quirky 750ml light bulb bombilla), and a stunning thirty-year-old Amontillado.
Toro Albalá is based in Aguilar de la Frontera, right in the bullseye of D.O Montilla-Moriles, the hilly Andalucían hinterland that forms ‘P.X. country’. The D.O surrounds the two towns of Montilla in the north and Moriles in the south, both in the Province of Cordoba. This Estate had a rather sedate beginning back in 1844, then in 1922 José Maria Toro Albala purchased the property and made his mark by moving the whole bodega into a former electrical plant (hence the Fino Eléctrico). It was here that José Maria began to write the blueprint for the modern incarnation Toro Albalá; to harness the combination of excellent raw materials, modern technology and respect for the traditional Montilla methods and styles. Above all was a serious commitment to making the best dessert wine possible.
Toro Albalá’s old, bush vine Pedro Ximénez is planted on the bleach-white, chalky soils of the region. This albariza soil type is not unique to Montilla-Moriles—Sherry’s other capitals of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Jerez de la Frontera share the spoils. However, the combination of these light soils, altitude, and the hot, dry climate—that can sufficiently ripen Pedro Ximénez—set Montilla apart from its maritime-influenced sister regions.
The bodega’s mindboggling vintage Convento Selección wines are black as pitch, indescribably complex and represent the most profound expressions of PX from Andalucía. For those who have not worked with PX of this age, these wines are incredibly intense wines that coat the tongue and scent the breath for minutes. They are very different to the far younger examples typically on the market.
A note on serving and food matching:
Pedro Ximénez’ affinity with chocolate-based desserts is well known. Steeping dried currants in the wine and pouring this mixture over vanilla ice cream is also an Andalucían favourite. Perhaps less well-known is how well the wines pair with salty blue cheeses (particularly the younger vintage wines). Matching with fig-based desserts and sweet pastries also scores highly on the delicious scale. Of course, P.X. could be considered a liquid desert in itself and by no means demands to be drunk with food. Those familiar with the wine will know that P.X is best served lightly chilled. Remember, with P.X. a little goes a long way—store it in the fridge and it keeps superbly for up to months and even years.
