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Bodegas Toro Albalá is the only true specialist of vintage Pedro Ximénez in the world. In addition to their highly sought-after sweet wines, Toro Albalá also produces impeccably made vintage Amontillados and non-fortified Finos produced with the criaderas-solera system. In its early days, starting from 1844, Bodegas Toro Albalá was mostly focused on the production of Fino-styled wines, but with the arrival of José Maria Toro Albalá in 1922, this all changed. With a reputation for being somewhat unconventional, José’s first order of business was to restore the former electric power station of Aguilar de la Frontera, and transform the 14,000m2 power plant into a winery and cellar; Amongst others, José Maria also developed Toro Albalá’s now famous wooden labels, as well as his own patented invention called ‘Trapped Air’, a novel approach to the problem of conserving wine in perfect condition. Toro Albalá’s current owner, Antonio Sánchez Romero, has invested heavily in the latest technologies to ensure maximum control at every stage of the winemaking and ageing process. Today, bodegas Toro Albalá offers a unique combination of excellent raw materials, modern technology, and respect for the traditional Montilla-Moriles methods and styles, and above all a serious commitment to making the world’s finest sweet wines.
The 1946 Don PX Convento Seleccion produced with Pedro Ximenez grapes dehydrated under the sun at the time of the Second World War, was only bottled in September 2011. This is an extreme wine, my first descriptor was ultra-mega-super concentrated. It is unbelievably powerful, both in the nose and the palate, full of umami, with sweet cinnamon, Christmas cake, camphor, petrol, lemongrass, Belgian chocolate and butter. Incredibly complex and rich, sweet, balanced and smooth in the palate, it is both very sweet and somehow salty, and with time it develops a black olive note. It combines the texture of the 1962 and the elegance of the 1949. It is as decadent as it gets. 825 bottles were produced. This wine will survive all of us. These wines are kept for generations and offered in very small quantities, but it’s amazing that you can still buy and drink something so old, and I’m even tempted to say that it might represent good value for what it is. A real tour de force sweet wine. Drink it if you ever have the privilege to do so from 2013-2060. Wine Advocate 100
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