Toro Albala Pedro Ximenez Seleccion Collection Case (200MLx6)

This special collection case consists of one 200ml bottle of each of these 6 vintages:

1931 (98 WA) 1964 (99 WA) 1965 (97 WA) 1968 (94 WA) 1973 (95 WA) 1980 (97 WA)

1931 (98 WA)
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. 2016-2040. - Luiz Gutierrez, Wine Advocate

1964 (99 WA)
My favorite of all the old sweet PXs I tasted this time was the perfumed and showy 1964 Don PX Convento Selección, which still has the wooden label, but it has also been modernized and made easier to read. It is denser than any of the other wines and has a brighter edge, amber, because the center is opaque and black. It has an incredible perfume; it's floral and spicy with fresher aromas than I remember in the other sweet PXs. It fills your mouth, goes down your throat like liquid gold and explodes in the eternal finish. It's an amazing PX with 15.5% alcohol, lower that most, and with 377 grams of sugar, also lower than most. Elegant and intense, simply delicious. There are 4,630 bottles of this wine, all bottled in February 2022.—Luiz Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate

1965 (97 WA)
Small lots of old vintages are released following no apparent logic, like this 1965 Don PX Selección, which is produced with white Pedro Ximénez grapes but it's black rather than white, bottled in June 2014 with 290 grams of residual sugar. It has a nose of pure curry, aromas of an Indian restaurant, very balanced, not as sweet as others, in fact it's more bittersweet than sweet, combining the spices with bitter chocolate and with very good acidity that makes it relatively easy to drink. 9,600 bottles were filled. - Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate

1968 (94 WA)
Going up the ladder of age, concentration, complexity (and price), the 1968 Don PX Selección aged in American oak butts for some 47 years before bottling, and was never blended with any other vintage. The wine has 340 grams of unfermented sugar and higher acidity given its age, as evaporation in barrel concentrates everything. This is somehow less dense and more pungent than the other old sweet wines, with more spices, lots of cinnamon and cocoa powder. It's more fluid, somehow lighter, and with some notes reminiscent of oloroso and even amontillado. There were 6,900 liters of this wine, which was bottled in various formats, including magnums, three and six liter bottles. The price is for a regular bottle. - Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate

1973 (95 WA)
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. - Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate

1980 (97 WA)
The 1980 Don PX Selección is said to come from a warm and dry year that favored the raisining of the Pedro Ximénez grapes. This has lots of candied fruit and spice and combines the 17% alcohol with a whopping 340 grams of residual sugar. This aged in American oak butts until its bottling in September 2018. It surprised me with a complex and somewhat savory nose, reminiscent of bitter chocolate, licorice and roasted coffee, carob beans and black pepper. It's super concentrated, dense and pungent, with a savory component, meaning the sugar is not as noticeable as you might think. It came through as complex and layered, very complete and intense. There are 4,600 bottles and 60 magnums of this.- Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate