This is a most remarkable bottle of wine. It’s complex, beautifully textured and balanced. It’s well suited to be a either a “meditative” wine, or remarkably versatile at the table!

The intrepid World Wine Travel group of writer wraps of its virtual tour of Spain with a “Writer’s Choice theme this month. See the end of this post for a recap of our virtual tour of Spain.

I was privileged to host the Andalucia theme for October. I chose to host October because my wife and I had planned to travel to Portugal and Spain in September.

It was to be our first visit to Portugal, but we visited Spain in 2013. During that trip we visited Sevilla, the capital of Andalucia. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to visit the sherry wine region centered in Jerez. We decided to rectify that omission by appending a visit to Jerez to our Portugal itinerary.

As a passionate sherry lover, I was looking forward to experiencing the history and the culture of the Jerez like a kid on Christmas Eve. And our tour company, Catavino Tours had arranged a visit to Bodegas Tradicion, one of the finest bodegas in Jerez.

Just perfect!

Alas, the trip wasn’t meant to be. My wife came down with a serious bacterial infection (cellulitis) that ultimately lead to her being hospitalized for a week. We cancelled the trip just after getting our negative Covid test results the day before we were to depart.

About a week before we were scheduled to leave for our trip, inspired by my love of Sherry, and seeking my first wine related post-nomial, registered for the December 2021 Wine Scholar Guild Certified Sherry Wine Specialist course.

I’m excited to share that I passed the Certified Sherry Wine Specialist examination, and graduated with Highest Honors.

I thought it would be cool to purchase a coveted bottle of sherry from Bodegas Tradicion, the sherry bodega we were scheduled to visit, to celebrate!

Bodegas Tradición Palo Cortado 30 Years Old VORS

Palo Cortado is the rarest type of Sherry. Such is the rarity of this style that only about one percent of all grapes pressed for sherry actually evolve to become palo cortados explains Ben Howkins, the UK’s foremost writer and expert on sherry.

There is much mystery that surrounds Palo Cortado. It is essentially a sherry that started its life under flor (biologically aged) destined to be a fino or an amontillado in style, but by either divine intervention or modern winemaking knowledge, it loses it loses its veil of flor and transitions to being matured oxidatively.

The result is a oenological rarity that “should have the aromatic refinement of Amontillado combined with the structure and body of an Oloroso. In short: Amontillado on the nose, Oloroso in the mouth” explains Certified Sherry Educator Ruben of SherryNotes.

This wine is classified as a 30 years VORS (Very Old Rare Sherry) indicating the average age of the wine in the solera must be at least 30 years old. It is the highest classification for wood matured sherries.

Amber color with a hint of cloudiness with billowing and complex aromas of wood varnish, citrus peel, mixed roasted almond and walnut, salted caramel, toffee, dried apricot and a hint of smoke. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, and harmonious with a gorgeous round mouthfeel, mouth-watering acidity and a touch of alcoholic heat. It shows dried apricot, mixed lemon and orange confit, caramel, toffee flavors with a beam of salinity, and a very long clean finish. 100% Palomino Fino| Bottled unfined or chill-filtered| Average age: 32 years| ABV – 19.5%.

This is a most remarkable bottle of wine. It’s complex, beautifully textured and balanced. It’s well suited to be a either a “meditative” wine, or remarkably versatile at the table!

Over the course of a week or so, we paired this wine with various dishes….

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The experience reminded me of the incredible food pairing versatility of sherry, which is why I love these wines so much. An acquired taste for most (including me), but definitely worth the effort for me!

About Bodegas Tradición

Bodegas Tradición was founded in 1998 by Joaquín Rivero Valcarce, scion of one of the region’s most historically prominent wine families. Bodega CZ, J.M. Rivero was established in the early 1650s, making it one of the oldest firms on record. At one point the firm was, by appointment, supplier of the royal houses of Spain and Portugal.

It’s golden age was most certainly the 19^th century – in 1855, it housed over 3,000 butts and commercialized a dozen or more world-renowned brands. The bodega’s fortunes waned with those of the region, and like so many sherry firm sold out in the early ’90s.

Immediately after the sale of the family firm, Rivero Valcarce, who became wealthy in the construction and real estate business, had the foresight to start planning the reinstatement of the family tradition. The name Tradición refers to both continuing the family business, and a comeback of the traditional styles and processes in the making of Jerez wines.

With this vision in mind, he acquired and restored an old sherry warehouse. In order to establish its soleras, Tradición bought carefully selected butts from other bodegas, and sourced old and first-rate American oak casks. Additionally, they assembled a elite team of experts to establish and maintain the soleras and run the firm.

In addition to vinous treasures, the bodega is also home to one of the finest privately-held collections of Spanish painting in the world. The Joaquín Rivero collection is comprised of more than 300 paintings spanning periods from the 15^th through the 19^th centuries, including noteworthy works by Zurbarán, Velásquez, El Greco and Goya explains importer Skurnik.

• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm is getting in the spirit wIth “Merry Christmas; Let’s Celebrate with Cava“
• Deanna from Wineivore is comparing “Albarino from Monterrei vs. Monterey + Monterey Bay Cioppino“
• Susannah from Avvinare shares “VIlla Conchi Cava + Paella to Celebrate the Holidays”
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass will be “Revisiting tried and true Rioja“
• Terri from Our Good Life shares “5 Great Wines from Spain Perfect for Gift Giving“
• Jeff from Food Wine Click! is confessing “Shh! Cream Sherry is My Guilty Pleasure“
• Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog is “Commemorating Setbacks and Success with Bodegas Tradición Palo Cortado VORS|“
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley will be sharing “5 Garnacha from Spain with Spicy Spanish Pairings“
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest is “Ending the Year with Wine Family Suertes del Marqués in Tenerif“
• Nicole from Somm’s Table will be “Re-introducing Cava!”
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla is pairing “Mushroom Soup with Manzanilla Sherry“
• David from Cooking Chat is pairing “Steak with Carrot Top Chimichurri and Spanish Wine“

Recap of 2021 World Wine Travel Virtual Tour of Spain

Here’s a recap of our 2021 virtual tour of Spain provided by our host for December – David of Cooking Chat. You’ll find the host for each month and you can get more information on the region, as well as see what the different group members shared on the topic.

January – La Rioja – Rioja – Jeff Burrows
February – Catalunya – Penedes, Cava, Priorat, Montsant – Susannah Gold
March – Castilla y León – Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Toro – Allison Wallace
April – Galicia – Rias Baixas – Linda Whipple
May – Aragon – Carinena – Wendy Klik
June – Basque – Txakolina – Jill Barth
July – Spanish Hard Cider – Camilla M. Mann
August – Valencia and Murcia – Jumilla Cindy Lowe Rynning
September – Navarre – Navarra – Robin Bell Renken
October – Andalusia – Sherry Martin Redmond
November – Castilla La Mancha – Deanna Kang
December – Writer’s choice in Spain – You are here!