Osborne VORS Sherry Pedro Ximénez Venerable

Venerable wine is the Pedro Ximénez in Osborne‘s Very Old Rare Sherry range (see Amontillado 51-1a for instance) currently housed in their Bodega de Mora in El Puerto de Santa María.

The solera for this wine was set in 1902 by Pedro Domecq and consists of three criaderas (103 barrels in total). It is made with Pedro Ximénez grapes sourced from albariza soils in Montilla.

Venerable used to be bottled in 75cl bottles but since a few years they’ve moved it to 50cl bottles. This stresses its limited nature and keeps the price accessible. The annual production is around 800 bottles.

Nose: nice and thick, with an above average dose of Turkish coffee, as well as fig syrup, dates and some aromatic hints of balsamic vinegar and polished oak. Caramel, toffee, a hint of dark bread. Some heavily roasted nuts, liquorice and a light hint of wet earth. Quite complex.

Mouth: very sweet and dense, quite velvety, with truckloads of succulent raisins but also big hints of dark chocolate and strong cappuccino. Dried figs. Molasses. Treacle. There’s a tiny bit of acidity (like in coffee, exactly) with a chestnut bitterness as well as a pinch of pepper to break the sweetness. This chocolate and coffee combo is really what sets it apart, especially in the finish this is quite impressive.

You can tell this while serving: Solera founded in 1902. Its name comes from Latin "Venerabilis", adjective that means worthy of veneration and respect. In the year 2008, this extraordinary solera went on to the wine collection old people from Osborne forming nowadays
part of its select VORS in the cellars of El Puerto de Santa María.