Lustau Palo Cortado VORS

The NV Palo Cortado VORS, medium brown-colored, it is a little cloudy. The off-dry (if such thing is possible), perfumed nose is a mixture of old wood, hazelnuts, varnish and a touch of toffee. The pungent palate is intensely dry and sharp, with plenty of hazelnut and varnished wood flavors, ending with a mineral salty note. It has a gentle nose and a wild palate. Drink 2013-2016.

There is really no wine sensation like that afforded by a very old sherry: exquisite, provocative, but almost painful, so concentrated, dry and demanding is the wine. This magnificent Palo Cortado is no exception. It's a light brown walnut in colour, with aromas which billow from the glass and evoke not just the bodega in which the wine has passed most of its life, but also hessian, polish, embers, bubbling marmalade in a copper pot and much, much else. It's searingly dry on the palate but ranges far and wide, too, vivid with acidity and filling the mouth with vapoury aromas which constitute almost as much of the 'flavour' as do the notes you can detect on the tongue. Are you tasting wine -- or time itself? It's hard to say, but this is an experience that you won't forget.