Toro Albalá Palo Cortado Selección Marqués de Poley 1964

Toro Albalá Palo Cortado Selección Marqués de Poley is a vintage-dated museum release from the 1964 harvest, bottled at 22 per cent.

Toro Albalá works from Aguilar de la Frontera in Montilla-Moriles, the Andalucían region south of Córdoba where Pedro Ximénez, not Palomino, is the dominant grape and where the heat is such that the wines reach full ripeness without chaptalisation. Palo cortado is the least predictable of the fortified styles: a wine that began life under flor as a fino would, then lost its veil and finished its ageing oxidatively, ending up with the aromatic lift of an amontillado and the weight of an oloroso. The Selección bottlings were vinified by the second generation and by Antonio Sánchez Romero, third-generation head of the estate, and are held back as vintage-dated releases rather than blended through a solera. Decades in cask at Aguilar de la Frontera concentrate the wine considerably, and at 22 per cent it is a dry, deeply savoury and very intense thing rather than a gentle one.

Pour a small measure and expect an opened bottle to keep for months at cellar temperature; serve at 13–14°C with consommé, aged hard cheese or salted nuts.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.