Winemaker Notes
The Sibarita Oloroso Solera was founded in 1792 and it's composed of 106 barrels and only 1.5% of the wine is drawn yearly from each barrel, bottling 206 cases of 3 bottles for the world. Unquestionably the Sibarita solera is one of the most famous and oldest soleras of Jerez. While sold as a VORS (guaranteed minimum age of 30 years) is at least twice that age, and probably older. These old wines have been beautifully looked after the Osborne family, despite their lack of real profitability. They could never be sold for their real value, but help give prestige to the Osborne bodega and Sherry in general. The word Sibarita comes from ‘Sybarite', meaning a person who dedicates time to finding and enjoying the pleasure of good food and good wines. The Sibarita Oloroso has been blended with 2% Pedro Ximmenez (a dried grape sweetening wine), which has left it with an almost imperceptible 2% residual sugar. It has ultimate power, precision and chess master plan complexity. The tang of ancient dry Oloroso stocks is paired up with the roundness of the Pedro Ximmenez to make rich, dry finishing sherry that is not austere.
The fullness of Oloroso pairs best with well-textured and fatty foods. Dishes that incorporate figs, dates, maple syrup, chocolate and soy sauce. A curried dish works very well, as would a dish made with vanilla, walnuts, almonds or coconut.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Fantastically complex nose with chocolate, roast coffee, raisins and lovely wood spice.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The NV Sibarita Oloroso VORS is produced with Palomino grapes, balanced with 2% of Pedro Ximenez, something quite common to polish the edges of very old wines, in a solera created in 1792. It has a dark mahogany color, and the nose shows some toffee notes intermixed with roasted coffee, tar, ash and incense. The palate shows good depth, strong acidity, well compensated by the sweetness, and a slightly bitter finish. It stands apart from other Olorosos, with a unique range of aromas and flavors. 1,500 bottles are filled each year. Drink 2013-2020.
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Wine & Spirits
Sibarita is dry—extremely dry—but also exquisitely sophisticated in flavor: smoky, earthy and sweetly complex. Its saline acidity and steely mineral structure lend a firm backbone. A classic Oloroso, this comes from a solera established in 1792; the current bottling represents wines that are at least 30 years old.
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Wine Spectator
This has good range, with walnut and Brazil nut notes weaving around dried orange, date, clove, black tea and salted caramel accents. Stays dry and taut through the lengthy finish, with a lovely singed juniper detail.
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.