La Bota De Fino 85

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The extraordinary NV La Bota de Fino 85 “Un fino que va para amontillado…” is not a wine from Jerez but from Montilla-Moriles in the province of Cordova, an appellation where the majority of vines are Pedro Ximénez and the wines produced are similar to Jerez wines. In fact, Amontillado means ‘in the style of Montilla,’ because the style originated there. This wine, from the same origin as edition 45 (and 24) that would be called Fino Amontillado if it wasn’t forbidden, has taken biological aging under flor to an extreme, and the wine has started its oxidative aging on its way to becoming an Amontillado. So, it has the saline complexity of the flor and the incipient notes of nuts and varnish. The grapes are picked extremely late, and this was never fortified. This has great finesse and can stand up to a lot of Palomino wines. It didn’t show any rusticity and was more about finesse. It’s from the same solera as the two previous bottlings, but this was somehow more biological, less concentrated or less oxidative. It might have a little more precision. As the wine sat in the glass and warmed up, the palate took off and revealed an unusual combination of power and elegance. This is really surprising and very good. 2,800 bottles were filled in December 2018.

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