Bodegas Toro Albalá
Bodegas Toro Albalá
Spain, Montilla-Moriles
Bodegas Toro Albalá is one of the driving forces of D.O.P. Montilla-Moriles, the neighbouring region of the D.O.P. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry. Toro Albalá began here, in the heart of Southern Cordoba, in 1922 with small wine grower José María Toro Albalá. José had just restored the former electric power station of Aguilar de la Frontera, some 50 km from Córdoba. He purchased a small winery in a nearby village, and moved the entire operation to this newly restored facility, 14,000 m² in size. José knew this former electric power station, and its maze of subterranean tunnels, was perfect for the ageing and conservation of dry wines. Eléctrico is still in use today for some of their top finos. But from the beginning José’s goal was to have a space to house and grow stocks of aged wines, an idea considered a huge risk in that era.
Fortunately, his amazing foresight paid off. In the 1960s, José’s nephew, enologist Antonio Sánchez, joined the team, and strengthened the bodega’s crianza system. Antonio brought with him his extensive wine training in France, as well as his bloodline in the vineyards and winery, planted when he was merely six years old. Antonio rightly remains the iconic figure of the winery today (as does his omnipresent sunglasses), and this oenologist, alchemist, and inventor is the one responsible for directing the winery into its highly respected focus on the sweetest of wines, the unsurpassed Pedro Ximénez. Indeed, Toro Albalá was the first bodega to sell a sweet PX dessert wine, and continues to be seen as the foremost experts in vintage Pedro Ximénez. Their cellars contain more than 6,000 barrels, some of which house the oldest wines in Andalucía.
AVAILABLE WINES
Toro Albalá Albala
Toro Albalá
Don PX Gran Reserva 2002
Older doesn't make it better. But when great age and great wine meet, there is little better in the wine world. This is a very sweet (500 g/l RS), very rare PX from Montilla. Whole bunches of PX were dried 8-10 days on mats, with 90 percent of the bunches flipped half way through. The bunches are pressed within pancakes of rusks to release their thick syrup. In the port-wine-style, distillate from the marc of the property is added to the fermenting must to bring it up to 18 degrees alcohol and killing off the remaining yeast, which rights the sugar levels as they are. The wine is left to settle in concrete for two years, after which it goes into 50-150 year old American oak barrels until just prior to bottling and release.
Vintage: 2002
Bottle Size: 750 mL
Bottles per Case: 1
Price per Bottle: $107
Style: Fortified
Region: Andalusia
Appellation: DOP Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape: Pedro Ximènez
Colour: Brown
Vegan: Yes
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
Toro Albalá Albala Electrico
Toro Albalá
Eléctrico Fino Solera 5 años
The fino Eléctrico is a classic wine that has been taking part in Andalusian people’s lives since 1922. Toro Albalá’s foundational winery is settled in the zone’s first power plant, which gave birth to jokes between the natives that said that the wine had electricity or that it was electric. This is a solera that began 65 years ago, though the wine is no more than ten years old (averaging five) meaning it's a fino with extended time under flor, adding to its complexity. As with all finos from Montilla, no fortification is needed for the flor to thrive. Bone dry and svelte, with marcona almond, herbal meadow grass, subtle wild lemon and ample flake sea salts running the long, nutty palate. This is less overtly marine salty than its coastal Jerez counterparts, and its mellow nature adds to its appeal. Pass the tapas.
Read more about Toro Albalá
Vintage: NV
Bottle Size: 750 mL
Bottles per Case: 6
Price per Bottle: $32
Style: Fortified
Region: Andalusia
Appellation: DO Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape: Pedro Ximènez
Colour: White
Vegan: Yes
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
Toro Albalá Albala
Toro Albalá
Don PX Vieja Cosecha 1973
An authentic artisanal gem elaborated with Pedro Ximénez grapes, harvested in August 1973 with temperatures that reached 45°C, following the traditional grape raising system. An exceptional white wine that has aged in oak butts and has been bottled in the most optimal moment. It has been awarded with the Grand Gold Mundus Vinis and 95 Robert Parker points.
“The 1973 Don PX Selección is part of a new range of more accessible old wines, not as extreme as the Convento or Convento Selección ranges of extremely old wines. This is slightly lighter in the palate with a little less sugar, some 320 grams per liter. The vineyards that produced these grapes do not exist today; they were on very soft marls soils. The dehydrated grapes fermented between 3% and 9% and then the wine was fortified and today bottled at 17%. It's somehow reminiscent of the 1987, very perfumed and aromatic, a little exotic, with even some minty notes. There are 16,000 liters of this wine, which is available in bottles and magnums. The palate is very concentrated, round, with an oily texture that fills your mouth. This is more elegant, but at the same time it's not as fresh as the 1987. The price is for one 75-centiliter bottle.” - 95 points, Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate, April 27, 2016.
Vintage: 1973
Bottle Size: 750 mL
Bottles per Case: 1
Price per Bottle: $253
Style: Fortified
Region: Andalusia
Appellation: DOP Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape: Pedro Ximènez
Colour: Brown
Vegan: Yes
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
Toro Albalá Albala Seleccion
Toro Albalá
Don PX Convento Selección 1929
Elaborated with 100% Pedro Ximénez raisined grape clusters. This wine proceeds from the old tradition which is still preserved today: to store at least one butt of the wine elaborated in special years, leaving it for a long, static ageing and waiting for the optimal bottling moment.
The bottling system is called “Convento Selección” in honour to the Cistercian monk system in which the wine is classified in their own series. The entire elaboration is handmade, following San Benito’s Recula Rule: “Living off the work of our hands.”
When great age and great wine meet, there is little better in the wine world. This is a very sweet (500 g/l RS), very rare PX from Montilla. Whole bunches of PX were dried 8-10 days on mats, with 90 percent of the bunches flipped half way through. The bunches are pressed within pancakes of rusks to release their thick syrup. In the port-wine-style, distillate from the marc of the property is added to the fermenting must to bring it up to 18 degrees alcohol and killing off the remaining yeast, which rights the sugar levels as they are. The wine is left to settle in concrete for two years, after which it goes into 50-150 year old American oak barrels until just prior to bottling and release. Brown walnut orange in hue, with concentrated dark marmalade, raisins, thick and unctuous on the palate. This is a contemplative sipping wine, that for all its age and gravitas, comes across the palate with an effortless ease. Toro Albalá releases small lots of very old vintage-dated sweet Pedro Ximénez from time to time.
"Older is not necessarily better. The extreme 1929 Don PX Convento Selección is a thick, dense and unusual, rare sweet beast. It is very dark with a green border, dense, oily and serious full-bodied palate with the profile of a PX from Jerez. With 500 grams of residual sugar per liter, it is a little monolithic, a little heavy and not so easy to drink. Still it is an impressive, very sweet wine that is really unique. 6,200 bottles were filled in September 2014. Drink 2014-2030.” - 95 points, Luis Guitiérrez, Wine Advocate, December 29, 2014.
Vintage: 1929
Bottle Size: 750 mL
Bottles per Case: 1
Price per Bottle: $495
Style: Fortified
Region: Andalusia
Appellation: DOP Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape: Pedro Ximènez
Colour: Brown
Vegan: Yes
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
Toro Albalá Albala Seleccion
Toro Albalá
Don PX Convento Selección 1931
Elaborated with 100% Pedro Ximénez raisined grape clusters. This wine proceeds from the old tradition which is still preserved today: to store at least one butt of the wine elaborated in special years, leaving it for a long, static ageing and waiting for the optimal bottling moment.
The bottling system is called “Convento Selección” in honour to the Cistercian monk system in which the wine is classified in their own series. The entire elaboration is handmade, following San Benito’s Recula Rule: “Living off the work of our hands.”
Older doesn't make it better. But when great age and great wine meet, there is little better in the wine world. This is a very sweet (500 g/l RS), very rare PX from Montilla. Whole bunches of PX were dried 8-10 days on mats, with 90 percent of the bunches flipped half way through. The bunches are pressed within pancakes of rusks to release their thick syrup. In the port-wine-style, distillate from the marc of the property is added to the fermenting must to bring it up to 18 degrees alcohol and killing off the remaining yeast, which rights the sugar levels as they are. The wine is left to settle in concrete for two years, after which it goes into 50-150 year old American oak barrels until just prior to bottling and release.
“If someone told you they kept a wine for 84 years in barrel before bottling, you'd think they are nuts, right? Well, that's what the folks at Toro Albalá in Aguilar de la Frontera - in the province of Cordoba, part of the Montilla Moriles appellation - did with their 1931 Don PX Convento Selección. This is part of what they call 'vinos olvidados,' which means 'forgotten wines.' The border is amber, with green tints that denote very old age. Such old age provides an array of unusual aromas and flavors, including iodine and salt that compensate the sweetness (403 grams) and even the alcohol (18%). It's terribly balsamic, with notes of dry herbs and spices, cigar ash, carob beans (algarrobas), incense and noble woods. The palate is very, very sweet and concentrated, unctuous, dense, with a chewy texture. This goes beyond a glass of wine, a drop of it is like having a piece of cake. I don't think this reaches the complexity and depth of the 1946, which remains the benchmark for these old sweet PX, but it's truly terrific! 9,650 bottles were filled in June 2015. Drink 2016-2040.” - 98 points, Luis Gutierrez, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Vintage: 1931
Bottle Size: 750 mL
Bottles per Case: 1
Price per Bottle: $495
Style: Fortified
Region: Andalusia
Appellation: DOP Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape: Pedro Ximènez
Colour: Brown
Vegan: Yes
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
Toro Albalá Albala
Toro Albalá
Don PX Convento Selección 1958
Elaborated with 100% Pedro Ximénez raisined grape clusters. This wine proceeds from the old tradition which is still preserved today: to store at least one butt of the wine elaborated in special years, leaving it for a long, static ageing and waiting for the optimal bottling moment. This extraordinary Don PX Convento Selección 1958 is qualified with 98 Robert Parker points and awarded with the Grand Gold Mundus Vini.
The bottling system is called “Convento Selección” in honour to the Cistercian monk system in which the wine is classified in their own series. The entire elaboration is handmade, following San Benito’s Recula Rule: “Living off the work of our hands.”
Older doesn't make it better. But when great age and great wine meet, there is little better in the wine world. This is a very sweet (500 g/l RS), very rare PX from Montilla. Whole bunches of PX were dried 8-10 days on mats, with 90 percent of the bunches flipped half way through. The bunches are pressed within pancakes of rusks to release their thick syrup. In the port-wine-style, distillate from the marc of the property is added to the fermenting must to bring it up to 18 degrees alcohol and killing off the remaining yeast, which rights the sugar levels as they are. The wine is left to settle in concrete for two years, after which it goes into 50-150 year old American oak barrels until just prior to bottling and release.
"The oldest of the sweet wines I tried this time was the 1958 Don PX Convento Selección, a very complex and nuanced wine with notes of charred wood, tar, coal, bitter dark chocolate, licorice, roasted coffee beans and aromatic herbs. The palate is compact with no fissures and a bitterness that compensates the sweetness (it has 350 grams of sugar, so it's not a surprise that it doesn't feel as sweet as others). It's relatively dense, complex, rare and unique. They expect to produce 14,200 bottles of this elixir. Drink 2017-2030.” - (97-98) points, Luis Guitiérrez, Wine Advocate, December 29, 2017
Vintage: 1958
Bottle Size: 750 mL
Bottles per Case: 1
Price per Bottle: $475
Style: Fortified
Region: Andalusia
Appellation: DOP Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape: Pedro Ximènez
Colour: Brown
Vegan: Yes
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
Toro Albalá Albala Electrico
Toro Albalá
Eléctrico Bombilla de Fino 3 Faces
Bone dry and awash with hints of large flake sea salts, almond skins along a gently plump, sweet stone palate, this subtle, pale yellow fino has both generosity and freshness. Less overtly salty than its coastal Jerez counterparts, this is complete with its nuttiness, citrus and meadow grass notes. This is a solera that began 65 years ago, though the wine is no more than ten years old (averaging five) meaning it's a fino with extended time under flor, adding to its complexity. As with all finos from Montilla, no fortification is needed for the flor to thrive. The shining packaging, and name Fino Electrico reflects the winery's past existence as the original power plant in Aguilar de la Frontera.
Vintage: NV
Bottle Size: 750 mL
Bottles per Case: 6
Price per Bottle: $49
Style: Fortified
Region: Andalusia
Appellation: DOP Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape: Pedro Ximènez
Colour: White
Vegan: Yes
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
AVAILABLE PROVISIONS
Toro Albalá Albala
Toro Albalá
Vinagre Balsámico al Pedro Ximenéz En Barrica 5 años
This delicious vinegar is made from fine wines aged in oak, together with Pedro Ximénez wine reduction that give it an extraordinary fruity touch. It was aged for more than five years to achieve the perfect smoothness and elegance. Aromatic, balanced and surprising.
Color Authentic dark and bright mahogany with iodine tones. Intense as well as elegant where the aroma of raisins, roasted touches, hints of coffee and liquorice are the protagonists. A harmonious balance between sweetness and acidity, persistent, delicious and with elegant fruity notes.
Vintage: NV
Bottle Size: 250 mL
Bottles per Case: 1
Price per Bottle: $15.00
Style: Vinegar
Region: Montilla-Moriles
Appellation: PDO Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape(s): Pedro Ximenéz
Colour: Brown
Vegan: No
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
Toro Albalá Albala
Toro Albalá
Vinagre Balsámico al Pedro Ximenéz Gran Reserva Chef Edition
This Gran Reserva comes from a careful selection of very old Oloroso wines and a reduction of raisined Pedro Ximénez grape must that give the vinegar a great aromatic complexity. A smooth and velvety Gran Reserva vinegar, this special Chef edition was created with lower acidity, making it a natural in the kitchen.
Intense ebony color, bright and with marked iodized touches. Very fruity with pronounced notes of raisined grapes and oak wood. Gives off a complex, intense and unique aroma. Soft, sweet and velvety. An exquisite flavor.
Vintage: NV
Bottle Size: 500 mL
Bottles per Case: 1
Price per Bottle: $30.00
Style: Vinegar
Region: Montilla-Moriles
Appellation: PDO Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape(s): Pedro Ximenéz
Colour: Brown
Vegan: No
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
Toro Albalá Albala
Toro Albalá
Vinagre Balsámico al Pedro Ximenéz Premium 25 years
This comes from Olorosos de la Solera wines, to which was added very old Pedro Ximénez wines. The aroma and the body of the Olorosos wines together with the sumptuousness of the Pedros Ximenéz express a world of incomparable sensations.
Intense ebony color with iodine nuances. Complex aromas, deep with hints of raisined grapes and roasted aromas. Persistent and subtle flavor. The nuances that recall the aging in wood, the very old Oloroso wines from which they come and the Pedro Ximénez wine stand out. An aromatic harmony deserving for haute cuisine.
Vintage: NV
Bottle Size: 250 mL
Bottles per Case: 1
Price per Bottle: $95.00
Style: Vinegar
Region: Montilla-Moriles
Appellation: PDO Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape(s): Pedro Ximenéz
Colour: Brown
Vegan: No
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
Toro Albalá Albala
Toro Albalá
Vinagre Balsámico al Pedro Ximenéz Premium 50 years
The comes from the Solera de 1960 de Toro Albalá, to which they’ve added small amounts of their oldest Pedro Ximenéz. This is their prized Balsámico, and only 1750 bottles are produced annually.
Intense ebony color with iodine touches. Slow and slow tears. Complex and surprising with a very honeyed finish. It combines iodized, roasted and cocoa touches with notes of dehydrated fruits such as raisined grapes, figs and dates. On the palate it surprises for its complexity of flavors and the complicity of time that make it sublime.
Vintage: NV
Bottle Size: 250 mL
Bottles per Case: 1
Price per Bottle: $159.00
Style: Vinegar
Region: Montilla-Moriles
Appellation: PDO Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape(s): Pedro Ximenéz
Colour: Brown
Vegan: No
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes
Address: Av. Antonio Sanchez, 1, 14920 Aguilar de la Frontera, Córdoba, Spain
Phone: +34 957 66 00 46
Website: https://toroalbala.com/en/
FEATURED PRODUCERS
Cantina del Pino is perched atop the hill in Barbaresco, overlooking the Ovello vineyard, and has been part of the Vacca family for over a century.
Etienne and Antoine, sixth-generation winemakers, are deeply committed to passing on living soils, old vines, and preserved landscapes to the next generation.
Thibault Ducroux is one of those winemakers who has been enticed by the vine from practically a toddler’s age: the son of a Beaujolais grower, he recalls how quickly he became passionate while learning the basics of the trade in his father’s cellar.
Alberto Pedrón comes from a long line of vine growers in Los Pedrones, a village of fewer than 200 inhabitants in the comarca of Utiel-Requena, Valencia.
Located in Combe de Savoie, on the foothills of the Massif des Bauges, Domaine Vendange stretches over 10 organically farmed hectares, on south facing slopes of youthful glacial till / limestone scree.
Created in 2017, Benjamin Passot today owns more than 3.5 hectares of vines in 5 crus: Juliénas, Moulin à vent, Morgon, Chiroubles, Chenas.
Casal de Ventozela is located in the Vinho Verde Region, one of the largest and oldest wine regions in the world, and for almost 40 years it has been a family business.
Las Moradas de San Martín was founded in 1999 with the intention to recover old vines from Garnacha and also Albillo Real, a white variety traditionally grown in the area but now rarely found.
Giuseppe Latorraca's family have farmed the vineyards in the village of Venosa since the early 1900s, selling the grapes and wines to locals and cooperatives. In 2003, Giuseppe decided he wanted to protect and celebrate his old Aglianico vines, and along with his wife and sons, built a winery near the 16th century Madonna delle Grazie monastery.
Terra de Asorei is a family winery from Galicia with more than 60 hectares of albariño vineyards in the Salnés Valley in the Rías Baixas region.
Husband and wife team Edgard Carter and Karine Mollenhauer run their family winery in the Maule, making a few small-production wines from indigenous grapes. Their idea is to elevate the reputation of purity and authenticity of Chilean wine through organic farming, and minimal intervention in the cellar.
In 1996, winemaker Alvaro Espinoza and his family planted two acres of vines around their home in Maipo. In 2003, they planted their El Escorial estate in the rocky volcanic / basaltic soils of the Andean foothills with over 25 acres organic / biodynamic vines at 500m.
Originally from the Beaujolais village of Charnay, in the land of the Golden Stones, Maxime Barrot learned how to make natural wine in Chile.
The Hubert family own and farm two nearby vineyards, Château Peybonhomme-les-Tours in the Côtes de Blaye, and Château La Grolet to the south in the Côtes de Bourg. Both of these Right Bank Estates are farmed biodynamically.
The Vrignauds’ family, settled in the village of Fontenay-près-Chablis, have been vine growers for five generations.
Draga, which in the Slovenian language means “precious“, is located in the stunning area between the hills of San Floriano del Collio, north of Gorizia.
Sam and Mandy Weaver founded Churton with organic roots more than 30 years ago, at a time when organic farming was basically unheard of in Marlborough.
Domaine Chevalier originated in 1850 when it was created by Emile Dubois.
The Perlage story started in 1985, when the seven Nardi brothers, encouraged by their father Tiziano and mother Afra, decided to embark on a journey of discovery of converting the family’s vineyards to organic agriculture.
Vasco Croft took over his mother’s semi-abandoned 17th century family estate in 2003 in the Lima Valley in the north of Vinho Verde, and began conversion to biodynamics. He is regarded today as one of the pioneering biodynamic winters in Portugal.
A member of the eleventh generation of his family to work in wine, Erwin Tinhof studied viticulture and oenology at the University of Montpellier and trained at the great Mas de Daumas Gassac. He now has 14 hectares of vineyards in Eisenstadt, located in the north of Burgenland.
Domaine du Crêt de Bine is challenging the view that wins from southern Beaujolais cannot achieve the same intensity and complexity as their northern Cru kin.
Since his childhood, Olivier’s favorite places to play have been the vineyards and the family wine cellar at Domaine Montrose, his family’s wine estate founded in 1701 in Pézenas.
Barberani is one of Umbria’s most respected producers, famous for its clean, pure wines. The vineyards lie on hills overlooking Lake Corbara, close to the city of Orvieto in the south-west of the province,
With home vineyard Switchback and sister properties Garnet Valley Ranch and Secrest Mountain now organic certified, Okanagan Crush Pad is internationally recognized as making some of the most game-changing wines from the region.
Livio Felluga is one of the most respected producers of Friuli, dedicating his life to reviving high-quality and sustainable viticulture in the hills of this north-eastern, Adriatic-influenced Italian countryside.
Michel Prunier works alongside his daughter Estelle who joined him in 2004. They represent the fourth and fifth generations to make wine in Bourgogne.
Baglio Assuli lies in the midst of land belonging to the Caruso family, a splendid area of countryside in a property of over 120 hectares.
The Tenuta Fanti estate has belonged to the Fanti family since the beginning of the eighteenth century.
Filipa Pato’s family has been producing wine in Beiras since the 18th century.
Toro Albalá Albala
Toro Albalá
Don PX Gines Liebana 1937
Older doesn't make it better. But when great age and great wine meet, there is little better in the wine world. This is a very sweet (500 g/l RS), very rare PX from Montilla. Whole bunches of PX were dried 8-10 days on mats, with 90 percent of the bunches flipped half way through. The bunches are pressed within pancakes of rusks to release their thick syrup. In the port-wine-style, distillate from the marc of the property is added to the fermenting must to bring it up to 18 degrees alcohol and killing off the remaining yeast, which rights the sugar levels as they are. The wine is left to settle in concrete for two years, after which it goes into 50-150 year old American oak barrels until just prior to bottling and release.
"The hard-to-believe 1937 Don PX Ginés Liébana, whose grapes must have been picked in the middle of the Spanish Civil War, belongs to the Ginés Liébana range. Like many older wines, it has lower alcohol, only 14%, while the concentration of sugar has grown to 410 grams per liter. At this age, I was expecting something more complex and dense, and I ended up going back to the 1980 for nuance and detail. Don't get me wrong, this is phenomenal, and if you're not used to this style of wine, you'll be blown away. But it felt relatively simpler, with intense aromas of raisins and a dense and oily palate dominated by those same notes. I'm often amazed at how little correlation age and quality seem to have in these old PX wines... This is a limited edition of 1,200 bottles and 24 magnums. It was bottled in September 2018. Drink 2019-2030.” - 96 points, Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate, June 28, 2019.
Read more about Toro Albalá
Vintage: 1937
Bottle Size: 750 mL
Bottles per Case: 1
Price per Bottle: $795
Style: Fortified
Region: Andalusia
Appellation: DOP Montilla-Moriles
Country: Spain
Grape: Pedro Ximènez
Colour: Brown
Vegan: Yes
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes