Wine Savvy on March 17, 2014 0 Comments Quick Characteristics Winery: Montilla Moriles Location: Spain ABV: 17.0% Pairs With: Paella, Sausage Gumbo, Creole Chicken What wines have you tried so far this year? Do you have any favorites yet? What is it about a wine that appeals to you when it does? Me? Personally, I love simplicity, flavor, balance and interesting textures, unique perfumes and lingering personality. It’s just wine and while this can be an overly complex topic, it is not something you should get lost in, but just enjoy it for what it is. However, if only we could find these characteristics in ninety percent of people. The world just might be a better place! Sometimes these things come a little outside of the box. So that is where I am going to go. Sometimes the best simplicity comes from nature itself and since I am in the business of wine, nature plays a very big part. I often write about basic, though interesting still wines, but I needed to look for something different. The Don PX Gran Reserva 2008 is a great find! If you love paella, frutas del mar, maybe some good old Creole chicken and sausage gumbo, some creamy potato etouffee , then you need to try this wine! I know it is classified as a dessert wine, but there is something about this with some savory, hearty, full-bodied, rich and salty cuisine. Montilla Moriles is located in the southern region of Andalucia. If you are familiar with the area, or perhaps Spanish wines in general, then you may also know this is the region of Jerez (aka Xerez aka Sherry). No matter what you call it, they are all synonymous, but the varieties of wines from the region are not. This is ok, we need a little variety in life on more than one occasion. I am not going to go into the intricacies of Sherry (aka Jerez, aka Xerez), by about the first paragraph I would probably lose you and then you wouldn’t hear about this wine. So I will just stick to the subject at hand. The grape, PX is for Pedro Ximenez. A white varietal they grow in the area of Andalucia along with Moscatel and Palomino Fino. These are the grapes of Jerez, no others. The Pedro Ximenez is used for the sweet styles of Sherry as the grape has the ability to mature for long-periods, create significant amounts of sugar and with great alcohol potential and various aromatic and flavor compounds. The grapes are additionally dried and pressed. Then the sweet nectar is fermented. The fermentation is stopped at some point to allow some residual sugar by adding alcohol to the mix, that’s what we call ‘fortification’. That’s not all, then they place it in 500 liter casks aged and blended over time using the solera system. That is another process I don’t want to lose you on. But in general, you get a pretty darn good blend. Then you’ve got, tada, Jerez (Sherry)! It is rich and wonderful and interesting. Wouldn’t we all like our dates to be the same way? Your wine? The color is gorgeous of honey amber, with rich, succulent and opulent of golden raisins, dried plums with hints of crème brulee crust, molasses and figs. The palate is, well, I’m sort of speechless. I will let you come up with an adjective of your own. It is very satisfying indeed. It is supple and though it is a sweet wine it lightly glides over your palate and leaves you with orange zest and caramel. See what happens when you just get down to the good stuff without too much pretention. Go for simple and just, good. More Wine Reviews: 2006 Peller Estates Cabernet Franc Icewine 2012 Oakville Sauvignon Blanc, Flora Springs Winery Cakebread Cellars Red Hills 2010 Zinfandel Las Perdices 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon
