Pedro Ximénez Sherry is one of the sweetest wines in the world. Only the Pedro Ximénez grape variety is used for its production. For this purpose, the overripe grapes are dried in the sun after the harvest, which not only increases the sugar content, but also the aromas and at the same time the acidity. Moscatel sherry is made the same way. These two wines are so-called
Vinos dulces naturales and differ fundamentally in their production from the other three sweet sherry types Cream, Pale Cream and Medium. These are all made from the Palomino Fino grape variety and are created by blending with naturally sweet wines – the Vinos Dulces Naturales just mentioned – or sometimes with concentrated must.
The sugar content of the must of these Vinos Dulces Naturales is often so high that the yeasts have difficulties with its fermentation, i.e. fermentation only starts slowly and/or soon breaks off. Spirit of the wine is usually added shortly after the start of fermentation. Then the aging of the wine in the open air begins. This usually leads to a very dark coloration of the wines. We tasted the Pedro Ximénez Sherry Bertola from Diez-Mérito, aged for 12 years in de Solera. The Bodegas Diéz-Mérito, which emerged from the bodegas of two families and has been owned by the Espinosa family since 2016, is located in a beautiful building just a few streets east of the old town of Jerez.
Pedro Ximénez Sherry Bertola, Diez-Mérito (Tasted Wines)
Dark brown with olive edges. Raisins, dried figs and dates on the nose, backed by spicy dark notes. Almost exuberant sweetness on the palate, coffee, caramel and figs as well as an intense bouquet of delicately bitter herbs, delicate barrel notes in the background, changing from caramel-like fig notes to notes of herbal liqueur in the good long finish. Good wine with noticeable sweetness, which harmonized splendidly with a vanilla-cardamom ice cream.