"raisin wine" news and stories

The Alvear Solera 1927 is 16% abv. and comes in a 375 ml. bottle for around $20-2$5. It is a dark reddish brown in color with a heavy body. The aroma is of dates, figs, prunes, and raisins. It is bit deeper and more complex than its cousin the vintage Alvear Pedro Ximénez De Anada 2003 because of being made in an old solera. The taste is also quite complex with dark caramel, maple syrup, dates, prunes, and hints of coffee and dark chocolate. It is an exquisite and warming sweet wine that goes great with dessert, sharp and complex blue cheese, and as an aperitif over ice. It will stay in great shape over several weeks or months once opened if kept sealed in the fridge.

The Alvear Solera 1927 is made from Pedro Ximénez grapes which are dried on straw mats in the sun and turned carefully by hand every day until they lose much of their moisture. When they are pressed they give off an amazingly thick and sweet brown must (juice) containing at least 300 grams of sugar per liter, creating the basis for a raisin wine.

Then the must is fortified with neutral spirits to nine percent alcohol. This young wine is called vino tierno (tender wine.) As the fermentation progresses the alcohol level is eventually increased to16-18 percent, partially through the use of more neutral spirits. Then the wine is matured using the slow solera (steps) and criadera (nursery) system.

It is made in a solera that was started in 1927. The Solera (steps) and Criadera (nursery) system is where wine is put up in a series of very large casks, set up in levels/stairs. As the oldest/lowest cask matures and has part of the wine removed to bottle, then wine is added to the oldest cask from the next oldest, and so on up the levels, so that over the years new wine is added to older wine, being added to even older wine. Usually there are 12-14 steps in a criadera with the bottom one containing the oldest wine called the solera, and the one up called the first criadera, then the second criadera, and so on up the stairs. The wines in the solera tend to end up with many similarities from the intermingling of the various vintages over the years, and in this case every bottle still has an infinitesimal amount of the original wine from 1927.

Located in the town of Montilla, in the province of Cordoba, in Andalucia, Alvear S.A. was built by Diego de Alvear in 1729, and has remained under control of the Alvear family ever since. This is the oldest winery in the area and its fino wine is one of the top three in Spain. The vineyards are located at an elevation of 1,050 ft. and are formed of the famous chalky soil called Albariza with 40-year-old vines.

In my introduction to the Basics of Dessert Wines, Ice Wines and my review on Alvear Pedro Ximénez De Anada 2003, I briefly mentioned late harvest, raisin wines, and The Noble Rot. Now it is time to delve a bit deeper into these subjects to explain why dessert wines are so sweet and luscious.

Late Harvest Wines- This is exactly what it sounds like. The grapes are left on the vines for an extended period of time. They grow sweeter and riper, first becoming swollen, and then slowly dehydrate, losing moisture and partially drying out until they start to get slightly shriveled in appearance. As this happens the sugar levels slowly increase to higher, and yet higher levels as the weeks and sometimes months go by.

Sometimes the dehydration process is helped along by workers going through the vineyards and twisting the bunches of grapes, forcing the vines to crush and squeeze shut so that very little or no moisture can get into the grapes. This causes concentrating of the sugars and complex chemical changes and compounds being developed within the grapes, which the French call passerillage.

Alvear Pedro Ximénez De Anada 2003 from Spain is 17%abv / 34 proof because it is a mildly fortified wine, and has a phenomenal natural level of 465 grams of sugar per liter. The color of this wine is a coppery orange brown with an exceptionally thick and heavy body. You could use a spoon to drink this luscious wine, heck it's almost thick enough to use a fork.

The aroma is full of fresh dates and figs, while the taste is very broad and complex with dates, figs, English toffee, raisins, as well as a hint of warm spices like mace, clove, and Vietnamese cinnamon. It is a full, full flavor that is soft and furry, and explodes on your tongue with every sip, ending with a strong, long, and lingering finish.

If you like rum raisins and toffee you will go wild over this wine. I found it delightful served chilled in a small wine glass, and spent many hours in front of my fireplace taking tiny sips, and letting the syrupy goodness wash over my tongue and through my soul. I can't say enough good things about this sweet and luscious wine.