Wineswining with 1987 Pedro Ximenez is a surreal experience and one of those rare occasions when you are drinking more than wine. You are drinking history.
Many things happened in 1987. For the first time since 1604, we could see from Earth with the naked eye the Supernova explosion that occurred 168,000 years ago in the Magellanic galaxy. It was the year of the end of the Cold War and the year EU formally started. The Soviet Union began its reformation with Perestroika reforms. In the United States was shown the first episode of Simpsons cartoon series. In Japan was released the very first Final Fantasy video game for Nintendo. And I was a teenager in love. Never mind all that. Let's get back to the sweet PX.
1987 Pedro Ximenez
The Sweetest And Surreal
Pedro Ximenez sherry is an extraordinary wine made from white grape Pedro Ximenez - one of the sweetest on earth. There's less than 1% of this grape grown in the region, and that makes it even more precious.
After being harvested the grapes are dried on straw mats in the intense Spanish sun for 7-10 days to concentrate its sweetness and flavors. Then they are pressed and fermented. Once made and aged for at least 25 years in the solera oak barrels, the wine will be 40 to 50 residual sugar. That's three times sweeter than Sauternes!
In the glass, PX is the black mahogany color with a green tint and is syrupy as black-strap molasses. It's astounding how such a dark color wine could be made from white grapes.
We could write a short novel about its aromas. It felt like going through rich foliants. It started with caramelized walnuts and coffee nibs and followed with dried figs and sesame, dark honey and tobacco and on and on and on.
The flavors are both savory and sweet - chocolate dipped figs, the best raisins we ever tasted, coffee with Irish Cream... I better stop here because I'm already salivating and I don't have it at home.
As I said, surreal wineswinging experience. Find yours!
By the way, what were you're doing in 1987 when this gem was born?
