NV La Bota de Viejo Cream No 79
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Tasting notes
Bottled October 2017. Light to mid yellowy brown. Very nutty and quite savoury on the nose but still with a hint of reduced, caramelised apricots. Somehow spicy too. On the palate, viscous, smooth and sweet but so tangy and salty that it tastes less sweet than it probably is analytically. Spiced treacle toffee with all the sweetness balanced by remarkable freshness in a super-concentrated elixir. Endless persistence. (JH)
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
A sweet Oloroso that has aged in a nine-butt solera under the label Viejo Cream, never before commercially available except for a few exceptional sacas. This solera has a ‘Bota NO’ (a cask of particular quality kept apart from the seasonal sacas that are at the core of the solera system) as well as a double NO, ie a cask of notably higher age and character. This very old cream is the result of a blending of top-quality Pedro Ximénez likely made when the solera was founded, over a century ago. Bottled October 2017. Colour of walnut skin. Intriguing mix of aromas: nutty, dark bitter toffee and a salty umami savoury quality. Sweet and still wonderfully fresh. Really at its peak in terms of concentration without bitterness. Sweet, rich, fills every corner of your mouth with intense, almost indescribable, flavours. Long, bitter-toffee finish. (JH)