Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
The Spanish businessman José Páez Morilla bought Dios Baco in 1992. Founded 200 years earlier, the winery had passed through several hands, and wasn’t in prime condition. Since then, he has renovated the facilities and preserved the historic cellar in the center of the city. In terms of style, Dios Baco tends to play with sweetness to make their wines more approachable and gentler. Yet, in the case of this Amontillado, with an average of 25 years in the solera, time seems to have taken all the sweetness from the wine. Tense, austere, pretty in fruit flavors and very generous in its mineral notes, this is a great wine for braised oxtail. It’s the best and most complex wine from Dios Baco we have tasted at Wine & Spirits.
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Wine Enthusiast
Caramel, toffee, roasted nut and citrus aromas are prominent. A buttery mouthfeel gets a boost from vital acidity, while semisour, direct flavors of apricot and persimmon are offset by warm nuttiness. Toasted nut and sauteed mushroom flavors control the finish, which is a mile long.
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Wine Spectator
Rather fresh and bright for an Amontillado, with juicy date, green tea, gingerbread, toasted pecan and salted caramel notes that flow nicely through a slightly flattering yet dry finish. A slight hint of sweetness imparts lift. Drink now. 300 cases made.
Sherry is a fortified wine that comes in many styles from dry to sweet. True Sherry can only be made in Andalucía, Spain where the soil and unique seasonal changes give a particular character to its wines. The process of production—not really the grape—determine the type, though certain types are reserved for certain grapes. Palomino is responsible for most dry styles; Pedro Ximénez and Muscat of Alexandria are used for blending or for sweet styles.
Known more formally as Jerez de la Frontera, Jerez is a city in Andalucía in southwest Spain and the center of the Jerez region and sherry production. Sherry is a mere English corruption of the term Jerez, while in French, Jerez is written, Xérès. Manzanilla is the freshest style of sherry, naturally derived from the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.