So old and ‘off the scale’ are the Barbadillo Reliquias that they don’t bother with VORS or any other age system from the appellation, so as not to understate their age.
There’s always a temptation to drink something that says ‘No’ on it. And so it has proved with the oldest sherries at Barbadillo, that have ‘No’ painted on the heads of the barrels. They were set aside for the children in the Quartier de los Ninos many hundreds of years ago in Bodega El Toro – where sherries are matured, in the centre of Sanluca – to ensure that they didn’t get mistaken for sherries destined for commercial use.
Some of the old barrels with names of the children on – for whom they were reserved
As part of Barbadillo’s 200-year anniversary, however, the sherry house has dipped into these barrels to siphon off miniscule amounts to be released as part of its Barbadillo Reliquia range – an Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso and PX.
The PX comes from a barrel that was reserved for the exclusive use of Pope John Paul II, although Barbadillo’s sales director and ambassador, Tim Holt informs me that “The Pope preferred cream sherry – I know because I used to serve it to him.”
Nobody knows for sure how old these sherries are, but they are put at ‘100 years plus’
The Pope’s barrel of PX
Barbadillo has released them before this new release (a previous release of the Palo Cortado was the first sherry to ever be given 100 points by Robert Parker) but they were only previously available in 750cl decanter-shaped bottles. Because the bottles ceased production Tim says that it made the bodega rethink how it approached the Barbadillo Reliquia programme.
“Too much was focussed on the bottle and packaging and we decided to focus on the liquid more and look at the authenticity of the presentation.”
Barbadillo is now releasing the sherries in a traditional sherry bottle with cork and wax seal, with renowned calligrapher Goyo Valmorisco, employed to come up with individual labels, each one of them hand-written and printed for every one of the 81 bottles.
Goyo Valmorisco hand-drew every label
“They’re all handwritten and quite wacky – nothing like we’ve done before – with the date of the saca and the number of the bottle on each label.”
Part of the rethink was to also release the Reliquias as 375cl half bottles rather than full “to spread the joy more” and to also make them less of a capital outlay (£365 RRP). The sherries have obviously all been sold on strict allocation to Barbadillo’s favoured importers, the lion’s share going to top-end restaurants and wine merchants in Spain, some to the US and Japan and the UK’s allocation Fells has given all the allocation to Hedonism.
Barbadillo oenologist Montse Molina
Prior to the tasting Barbadillo oenologist Montse Molina explains how they only draw sherry from one cask and use the remaining casks to top this one up.
“They are alive,” she exclaims, “the oxidation is very slight and each one has a different story… even after an hour you can still find new words to describe them.”
So how were they tasting?
Barbadillo Reliquia Amontillado
Super-intense 100+ year old Amontillado that has a concentration and intensity that is simply off the scale. To pour it is exciting, a feeling of letting the genie out of the bottle – the aromas simply fill the room from a tiny sample.
To look at the wine is light mahogany with russet highlights; the nose is intense, complex and slightly volatile, with aromas of dark, old teak, sea spray, walnut shells, and a touch of cream; the palate is equally powerful pushing the envelope on what is an acceptable concentration – in much the same way that salty liquorice does in confectionery terms. There are waves of flavour, the mouthfeel is slightly oily, but the high acidity (10) keeps it balanced. Almost an essence rather than a wine. 22% ABV £365 for 35cl
Barbadillo Reliquia Palo Cortado
Very old 100+ year Palo Cortado of which Barbadillo has nine casks left in the world.
Mahogany in colour it, like the rest of the Reliquias is intense, concentrated and hugely complex – changing in the glass over many hours. Like the Amontillado there are notes of fine old wood, nut shells, a marine quality but also an attractive dried orange peel note. The palate is very dry, concentrated, salty, bitter and really makes you salivate, it’s the only one of the Reliquia series that has a feint fruity note. You cannot imagine Palo Cortado getting better than this, certainly not more concentrated and at the same time being drinkable. This was the first dry sherry to ever be given 100 points from Robert Parker.
Barbadillo Reliquia Oloroso
Very old 100+ year old Oloroso that is almost a sherry perfume – it is that concentrated and intense. In fact these old wines used to be called ‘handkerchief wines’ because a drop was used for the aroma.
Because of the super-concentration of the wine this is difficult to understand and difficult to drink but fascinating nonetheless, partly because I haven’t drunk anything before that has extracted this much of the wood from the casks through the years. The nose is a complex and slightly volatile melange of polished old furniture, cigar ash, pot pouri, salt taffy; the attack on the palate is so extreme it is almost painful, much like a cask sample whisky (without the high alcohol obviously) you almost want to dilute it somehow. The mouth-feel is muscular, bitter and saline with breadth and depth on the long finish.
Barbadillo Reliquia Pedro Ximenez
The rarity of this 100+ year old PX is best summed up in that only 17 half bottles are being released globally, there only being 2 casks left at the bodega. Unlike a lot of old PXs however, it is immensely drinkable without the bitterness you often get with these wines.
It pours into the glass like engine oil, opaque, the deepest mahogany with yellowy red edging. As you swirl the glass the liquid almost stains the glass like the orangey-yellow eye drops the optician puts into your eyes at an eye test. The aromas are concentrated and bewitching – raisins, espresso, fig syrup, a slight hint of mushroom; the palate is oleaginous, terrific balance with the 350 gms of RS matched well with high acidity. The flavours take you on a journey from baked apple with plump raisins, muscovado, liquorice, coffee beans and dark chocolate… and back again. Simply mind blowing.
