Sweet Pedro Ximenez (PX) can seemingly age forever. Let’s taste one with material in it dating back almost 200 years. What was going on in 1830?
Sweet PX
When I first started this blog about 4 years ago, I tasted and reviewed my first sweet PX, so check it out if you’d like more background information on PX. In a nutshell, PX is a sundried, fortified sweet wine aged in an oxidative way from the variety Pedro Ximenez in the region of Andalucia, mostly in Montilla-Moriles. Some people call them “PX Sherry” but most can’t technically be labeled that because they are made in Montilla-Moriles and not Jerez (Sherry). Therefore, I usually just call them PX to refer to sweet PX although there are dry white versions as well.
There are vintage versions and Solera versions of sweet PX. The Solera versions add new material to leftover old material vintage after vintage, so the one I reviewed 4 years ago had material in it from 1927 until it was released. This time, after having experienced more sweet PX since then, I wanted to review another one for the blog from the same producer, but this time it’s a Solera PX dating back a 100 years earlier.
What’s amazing about these wines is their longevity and the relatively cheap price for such aged wines. The 1927 Alvear Solera PX can be found for only $25 a half bottle while the 1830 I’ve seen for as low as $60-100 for a half bottle. A half bottle is all you need too because these wines are so rich and thick. You need just a little bit to enjoy it with your dessert.
1830-Now
There were only 260 bottles made of this bottling although I assume they release new bottlings every year or so. I bought this back in 2021, so it was probably bottled a few years before that. Therefore, it contains material from each vintage for about 188 years and was about 196 years old (at least parts of it) when I opened it.
Comparing old Solera wines vs. Vintage wines is a bit like the Nature vs. Nurture debate. Vintage wines are born and their genetic material won’t change as it ages although they will eventually get more mature in barrel and bottle. Solera constantly has influence from each year added to it and it is an accumulation and integration of everything learned year after year as it matures. I actually prefer the Solera metaphor better as a teacher, since it involves pouring new knowledge into someone every year.
“Liberty Leading the People” by Eugène Delacroix commemorating the French Revolution of 1830
What was happening in 1830? In the US, tensions over slavery were growing and the Civil War would happen 30 years later. Sadly, the Indian Removal Act was signed by Andrew Jackson this year too. This led to the Trail of Tears. Across the globe, there were revolutions and new constitutions in several countries with much of Latin America gaining independence just before this time. Although technologies have changed exponentially, and certain countries like the US have emerged as global powers since then, many countries are still trying to escape their colonial past, and violent displacement by imperial/colonial powers continue to happen around the world to exploit natural resources. We’ve gone through two major global pandemics, several financial crises and two World Wars since 1830. We need to be careful to prevent history from repeating itself.
In terms of art, the most famous composer in the West during this time was Chopin while both visual art and music were in their Romanticism stage. While in the US, blackface minstrel shows were popular. At the same time, negro spirituals sung by slaves would eventually evolve into Jazz, the Blues, Rock, R&B, Rap, etc.
Tasting Notes
NV Alvear Solera 1830 PX Montilla-Moriles (375ml)
The oldest Solera blend of the estate. It spent on average more than 50 years in American oak casks, with some lots going back to 1830. Glass staining brown. Intense on the nose and palate. Typical PX flavor profile with raisin, fruit cake, spice. Coffee and vanilla.Thick and syrupy. It’s just even more intense and concentrated than average PX (and the 1927 Solera version) given when this Solera started. There’s a little streak of acidity that keeps it from being too sweet and with dessert, it tastes even fresher. Seamless and balanced for a PX. If you have the patience, I doubt there will be any decline to this at its 200th birthday. 93