Bodegas Poniente Amontillado Sherry VORS Front Bottle Shot
Bodegas Poniente Amontillado Sherry VORS Front Bottle Shot Bodegas Poniente Amontillado Sherry VORS Front Label

Winemaker Notes

Acclaimed winemaker, Alberto Orte utilizes generations of family winemaking skill and insight to create Poniente Amontillado, a limited-production sherry from the historical estate of El Aljibe. Poniente Amontillado is a testament to patience being rewarded as Alberto has chosen to return to a slow but steady concentration of the wine rather than fortifying. The sherry gradually transitions into the oxidative aging phase of its life through a gradual depletion of flor-sustaining nutrients creating depth and intensity. Even more rare is that this wine comes from a system of six criaderas and one solera, with a median age of over 40 years. The complexity of Poniente Amontillado is a result of incorporating over 200 ancient and nearly forgotten clones of Palomino into precious aged soleras, minimal filtration, and no fining to maintain depth of character.

It is recommend serving chilled in a white wine glass. Pair with grilled artichokes, tuna tataki, Croquetas de Jamon, seared chanterelle mushrooms, grilled asparagus and Kafta (Lebanese beef skewers). A gentle decanting will help the wine express itself more swiftly.

Professional Ratings

  • 95

    The first 2024 bottling of the NV Amontillado VORS, which is clearly marked on a neck label, comes from their solera that averages close to 50 years of age, much older than the requirement for the VORS certification (30 years). It has a bright mahogany color and a nuanced and characterful nose; all these bottlings are textbook examples of their categories, and the Amontillado has the combination of biological and oxidative notes in the shape of rust and nuts, iodine and varnish. It comes from a Fino and is the expression of Fino at its most—salt, iodine, low tide, with a pungent bitter twist in the finish. Rating: 95+

  • 93

    Quite a deep hue for an Amontillado, with lots of sour dough, walnut, dried persimmon and some walnut. Painfully rich and salty with salted caramel, almonds and walnuts. Extremely concentrated and long, though rather unsubtle.

Bodegas Poniente

Bodegas Poniente

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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.

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Jerez

Spain

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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.

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