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Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera 1927 (Half Bottle 375mL) - First Bottle

Reviews

98 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - Read

The NV Pedro Ximenez Solera 1927 is non-vintage, but does have some 1927 material in it. This is totally dark brown/amber with notes of figs, toffee, caramel syrup, molasses and coffee. It is dense, super sweet, intense, rich and an amazingly, unctuously textured, thick beverage to consume slowly and introspectively after a meal. Drink now through 2050, or even longer.

96 Wine Enthusiast - Read

One of the world's best PX wines is Solera 1927, the pride of Alvear. Whatever solera stocks went into this bottling were well selected. Aromas of maple and fine wood turn to fig and caramel. Saturation and weight on the palate are expected, but this has some (though not a lot) acidic cut. Deep flavors of fig and Nutella finish with nuttiness and warmth. Drink or hold.

Technical Details

CountrySpain
RegionAndalusia
AppellationMontilla-Moriles
Aging/CooperageAged in the criaderas and solera system which was started in 1927
Alcohol16%

Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera 1927 (Half Bottle 375mL)

Pedro Ximenez | Spain

WA98, WE96

New $40.00 $29.95 ( $24.95 6+ bottles ) | 375mL

25% off retail!

Price drops to $24.95 per bottle when you purchase 6 or more bottles! 98 points...under $25...I’ll take two phrases rarely combined in the same sentence for $1000, Alec. Wow! Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate went absolutely ga-ga for this, and 10 seconds after popping the bottle for ourselves, we understood why. So deeply layered, beguiling, with the perfect balance of sweetness and spicy, tingly acidity – this is a rare and exceptional bottle to call your own! $29.95 a bottle drops to just $24.95 when you get six or more!

Bodega Alvear is a longstanding family winery that can be traced back to 1729 in the area of Montilla, Córdoba with nearly 300 years of meaningful history – both to the wine region, and the history of Spain. This remains, without question, Andalusia’s most iconic winery and a champion of the Pedro Ximénez grape.

This wine is the product of a long, highly involved process that has played out over the decades. After drying the harvested grapes in the sun on a series of braided grass mats, the raisins are pressed, and the juice fermented. The initial wine is barreled, but the barrels are only filled two-thirds of the way so that over time, a skin of yeast known as “flor” covers the exposed surface of the wine – completely altering its flavors forever. From there, the barrels enter the solera system – a tiered process wherein young barrels are used to top up slightly older barrels, which in turn top up slightly older barrels, with this hierarchy continuing down the decades, and in some cases, the centuries. The oldest wine in this batch is from 1927, but everything from slightly younger wines in the later 20s and 30s, to far more recent vintages are blended in small amounts as well.

The taste is like nothing else! Rich and viscous, with notes of maple, fig, and toffee, pepper, clove, cardamom, caramel, coffee bean, dates, plums, golden raisins...wow! The texture glides like warm honey, with a spicy and tingly acidity that keeps things bright and far from the realm of cheap and cloying dessert wines. There is some serious depth to be had here, and will develop beautifully over the next 30 years (and likely beyond, but damned if I’ll be leaving any for my offspring)! Get six or more and you’re guaranteed to be sipping the good stuff for the next few decades! 1927 Solera!

PAIRING IDEAS: Have this with a serious blue cheese – like Andalusia’s own, “Andazul”. This is a Payoya goat’s milk cheese, aged and inoculated like Stilton. Make sure you get a mature one for the ultimate in complexity and intensity. Some Marcona almonds on the side and a soft heel of bread are all you need to sip and savor this magical pairing.

About the Producer

The Alvear Family has its origins in the old neighbourhood of Trasmiera in the mountains of Burgos. In the early 16th century the family uprooted from its modest ancestral home in San Miguel de Aras, and settled in Nájera (La Rioja) subsequently relocating, some years later, to the province of Córdoba in Andalucía. Juan Bautista García de Alvear y Garnica was born in Nájera on 18th July 1657. This prominent individual was Mayor of the ‘Noble Kingdom of Nájera’ and while performing his duties was posted to Córdoba in the role of ‘Royal Tax Collector’. Once in his new destination, and having being married before, he remarried a Cordobese noblewoman; a matrimony which gave rise to the birth of Diego de Alvear y Escalera, the first of the family wine saga. Throughout its history, the Alvear bodega has retained its family character by firmly sticking to its roots. The current generation of the Alvear family is very large; more than 50 members own the business, some of whom also participate in the running of the business. Alvear is one of the most prestigious and internationally renowned bodegas in Andalucía, boasting extensive vineyards that are located in the most famous estates in the Sierra de Montilla y Moriles (Córdoba). This privileged land’s star grape variety is Pedro Ximénez, which is thought to have originated in the Rhine region, and is used by the bodega as the unique base wine for its sweet, Fino, Oloroso and Amontillado wines. The barrels used to age Fino wines are called ‘botas’ in Spanish (wine butts) and usually have a capacity of around 500 litres. The preferred wood used to make wine butts is American oak due to its porosity. However, new wood should never be used. In the bodega wine butts are stacked row upon row to varying heights; the stacks are called ‘cachones’. The walkway between two ‘cachones’ is called an ‘andana’ and each row of butts is called a ‘criadera’. The ‘criadera’ closest to the floor is called the ‘solera’; the row above is called the ‘first criadera’; the next the ‘second criadera’ and so on and so forth. Each ‘criadera’ or row contains wine which has been aged for the same amount of time; the ‘solera’, contains the oldest wine, the ‘first criadera’ the next oldest wine etc. until reaching the top where the youngest wine is stored.