Bodegas Toro Albala, Don PX Convento Selección, 1946

The Toro Albalá winery began in the heart of Southern Cordoba in 1922, which is famous for its wine region Montilla-Moriles. The history begins with the story of a small wine grower José María Toro Albalá who had the great idea of keeping aged wines to create wine treasures destined for the most demanding palates and whose family values are still founded on this philosophy today. Although considered a risk in view of the economic situation at that time, his idea was a great success and Toro Albalá wines are now to be found on the best tables in the world.

“Fino” wines were the most popular wines in the 1930s amongst mainly rural Andalusian workers who frequented the local bars. The “bodega”, or winery, was situated in a former regional power plant, which gave rise to the Andalusian joke that the wine was electric or possessed electricity, hence the famous name “Eléctrico” – still used today – for its “fino” wine.

A generational change in the 1960s at the hands of enologist Antonio Sánchez was to give the brand an identity of its own. From then on, its focus was the recovery of the art of the tradition of ageing wines and adherence to the old ways of the “crianza” system. The founder’s nephew, the now well-known Antonio Sanchez, was to bring fresh ideas from his training, which he undertook primarily in France, as well as enthusiasm for a project of which he had been part since the age of six.

The legacy of this winemaker, never seen without his sunglasses, is not only the creation of wine masterpieces with a unique style all their own, but also an understanding of viniculture, surrounded by works of literature, archaeology and paintings, as well as the constant aroma of amontillado casks. With consistent quality and a classic taste, his specialities are the very pungent amontillados and unsurpassed Don Pedro Ximénez wines.

Toro Albala winery has received awards in recognition of its constancy in the world of viticulture. Patience bears sweet fruit, something which winemaker and enologist Antonio Sánchez knows well, having dedicated all his life to this and for whom the Pedro Ximénez grapes are as if they were his own offspring, grown under the best conditions to ensure sufficient character and to be a part of the most wonderful dinner gatherings. This project has spanned many years, generations in fact.

This is confirmed by the Don P.X. Convento Selección 1946 which was awarded 100 points by wine guru Robert Parker in his magazine Wine Advocate. This was a turning point for the Toro Albalá brand as it was also the first time a sweet wine from Montilla-Moriles had been awarded with 100 points, thus having entered into the Olympus of wines. This is a priceless accolade in international and national markets that appreciate a priceless wine. Nurtured with care since 1946, this Don P.X. Convento Selección 1946 comes to our tables today with the flavour of time.

Montilla-Moriles is a DO wine zone in Andalucia, southern Spain. Centred around the towns of Montilla and Moriles, it is located about 25 miles (45km) south of Cordoba and 60 miles (100km) north of the Mediterranean coast at Malaga, making it the most northerly of Andalucia's DO wine regions. The landscape here is dry and flat, speckled with wheat, olives and vines, the makings of the ancient essentials: bread, oil and wine.

This area's long winemaking history, which dates back to the 8th Century BC, is quite possibly the oldest in all of Andalucia. For a long time much of the wine produced here was used to make Sherry and Malaga, as these names were significantly more marketable and more famous than either Montilla or Moriles. This remained the status quo right up until 1945, when Montilla and Moriles were granted their own 'Montilla-Moriles' DO title with which to label and market their wines.

The Montilla-Moriles DO covers an area about 25 miles (40km) wide and roughly square, with Montilla at its centre. As well as Montilla and Moriles, the area incorporates five other parishes in their entirety (Dona Mencia, Montalban, Monturque, Nueva Carteya, Puente Genil) and a further ten in part (Aguilar de la Frontera, Baena, Cabra, Castro del Rio, Espejo, Fernan Nunez, La Rambla, Lucena, Montemayor and Santaella).

Even though Montilla lies 100 miles (160km) northeast and inland from Jerez de la Frontera, the soils here are remarkably similar. The same blinding-white Albariza is present throughout the region, and is just as valued here as in Jerez for its high albedo (the amount of sunlight it reflects back up to the vines). Its excellent moisture retention is also a significant boon – this area is hotter than almost anywhere on the entire Iberian Peninsula.

The climate is also not dissimilar from that in Jerez, with roughly 600mm of annual rainfall and summer and between 2800 and 3000 hours of effective sunshine annually. Average summer daytime temperatures are around 30°C, but have been known to rise well above 40°C when the hot levante wind blows in from the east. Both Jerez and Montilla are measurably hotter than Sanlucar de Barrameda and Puerto de Santa Maria, which enjoy the cooling influences of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Montilla-Moriles region is known for its rich dessert wines, which are categorized via the same classification system as that used for Sherry in Jerez. The wines produced in Montilla-Moriles, however, are generally not fortified (with some exceptions, such as Oloroso), as the Pedro Ximenez grapes achieve extraordinary ripeness in this hot and dry climate – a mix of Mediterranean and semi-continental.

The wines ferment to between 14 and 16% alcohol, leaving behind plenty of residual sugar. They are then matured using the solera system and classified into the following styles:

• Joven Afrutado (young and fruity): these are the most basic wines from Montilla-Moriles, dry or slightly sweet and consumed young. All the grape varieties grown in Montilla can be used for this wine.
• Fino: produced using the same techniques as Fino sherry, although the flor yeast responsible for imparting its distinct character to the wine is often not as effective in Montilla due to its hot climate (the average temperature in July is 97.2F/36.2C). These wines are dry, nutty and light in texture.
• Amontillado: means 'Montilla-style'. This wine starts its maturation period under a film of flor, but once the yeast dissipates, the wine gradually oxidizes, changing its colour to brown or amber. As the oxidative maturation continues, the wine gains amazing complexity – a hallmark of this style. Most Amontillado Montillas are sweet, made from the region's noble grape variety, Pedro Ximénez.
• Oloroso: a richer, heavier and darker style of Montilla made from Pedro Ximenez.
• Palo Cortado: an intermediate style between an Amontillado and Oloroso. These Montillas display the crispness of Amontillados and the richness of Olorosos.