11/18/2023 - UFWS Likes this wine:

Double decanted two days before service. Lots of toffee on the nose. Comes off dry with lots of acid, but there's a good amount of underlying RS. The RS comes out to balance the salt in the dishes it's paired with. Not as dry as 19th century Sercials.

6/17/2023 - UFWS Likes this wine:

Decanted two days before service. The bracing acidity that existed upon opening calmed down substantially by service time. The acidity was definitely there, but it was more in line with the residual sweetness that was hiding underneath. Not as dry as anticipated. More of a medium dry. Medium shiny brown color. Palate of nuts, caramel, burnt honey. This will live for decades.

1/7/2023 - UFWS Likes this wine:

Color of Motor Oil after 10,000 miles, with the same viscosity. Brown sugar, figs, IHOP Boysenberry syrup, but with acidity that keeps it from being a cloying sugar bomb. After about 45 minutes in the glass and drinking some of it, the sugar just started to be too much, but this could have been my palate's reaction. It's a wine that you can't drink much of without overwhelming your palate. Spectacular pairing with blue cheeses, three of which I served with the course [Blue Shropshire (Neal's Yard - England), Buttermilk Blue Affinee (Roth Kase - Wisconsin), Grand Noir (Kaserei Champignon - Bavaria Germany)].

1/7/2023 - UFWS Likes this wine:

Double decanted two days before service. Dark shiny brown in color. Upon initial opening, there was searing acidity that masked pretty much everything. After the two days, the wine was cohesive. The acidity had calmed down by about 75%, leaving a great acid backbone. The sugar was coming on to make this a sweeter-than-normal Verdelho from my perspective. The overall package paired really well with the turtle soup I made to go with the wine, the Brennan's recipe that I juiced up a little with Chohula green chili sauce.

7/10/2021 - UFWS Likes this wine:

Decanted about an hour before service. Color was a clear walnut brown, although there was a fair amount of sediment to be decanted off. On opening, the palate was a lot of caramel with nice acidity and an off-dry level of sweetness.

After an hour, sweetness started coming on with stronger acidity, putting this into the "cream sherry" category, but not super sweet. The scent and flavor of coconut was evident, which is something I've never run into before. This made us think that perhaps the wine had originally been sweetened with some sort of fruit juice. Overall, a really nice wine.

6/24/2017 - UFWS Likes this wine:

Popped and poured. Tasted over two hours. The solera is between 60-70 years old.

Upon opening, the nose is nutty, with a decent amount of acetone. Really nice acidity that doesn't slap you in the face. Very smooth and balanced. Some salinity showing. A slight green rim.

This wine is very approachable from the beginning. It was great with the fatty charcuterie that was served with it.

After two hours, a toffee nose has emerged. Still very smooth. This wine paired well with the double cream cow's cheese and the ripened goat cheese. It was better upon opening, but still drinking very well.

6/24/2017 - UFWS Likes this wine:

Popped and poured, but tasted over two hours.

Upon opening, a huge nose of acetone. Intense acidity, but comes across pretty smooth. The mouthfeel is dense, almost thick. Strong salinity. A bit of a green rim. After about 20 minutes, orange peel started to emerge on the nose and palate.

This is a big and bold wine that's very demanding on the palate. The solera is 110-120 years old. Served with charcuterie, where the fat helped to balance the acid.

After two hours, the acetone nose is greatly reduced. There's some toffee on the nose now, but not on the palate. The palate is getting really dry, and not as dense as earlier. The palate has gotten much less interesting, with reduced intensity.

Our experience with very old soleras is that they need to be drunk right after opening. Time and air does not help these wines. They get dull and lifeless after an hour or two.