TN: El Candado PX Sherry by A.R. Valdespino

[Ray Barnes]

In trying to get back into "the wine thing" again while still dealing with ongoing work and family health issues, I was looking forward to trying this release, the only remaining sherry in British Columbia made entirely from Pedro Ximenez grapes, and according to Hugh Johnson, an example of the world's sweetest wine.

The 375ml bottle (for around $18 Cdn here) has a distinctive yellow label and is graced with an engaged padlock (Candado in English). Fortunately, the provided keys work. I rather like this very original presentation.

Sniffing the freshly unstoppered bottle is like taking a whiff inside a just-unsealed bag of sultana raisins. Truth be told, this wine smells and tastes more like a rich fruit juice than even a typical dessert wine. The taste is very much of raisins and a bit of coffee and maybe some mocha. I did not discern, yet, much balancing acidity. The sweetness is quite overpowering. Although it is very pleasant to drink, I found it somewhat lacking in complexity, and maybe a bit too close to my comfort level to the experience of drinking a cream sherry (eg. Harvey's). The 18% alcohol sneaks up on you in a hurry after less than 2 ounces. I would suggest a 1 oz. pour or less is sufficient for this stuff. The finish is long and smooth.

Compared to the Broadbent 10YO Malmsey madeira, I felt this sherry, in spite of being sweeter, was less satisfying and flavourful. The madeira costs a little more and is worth it.

This wine is recommended, but not my first choice in dessert wines. It was a lot of fun to drink though.

[Ray Barnes]

I forgot to add, the wine is light brown - not as dark as molasses in spite of claims elsewhere. Oddly enough, it looks a lot in the glass like madeira.

[Ray Barnes]

As a PPS, this sherry is definitely sweeter than any German or Austrian Trockenbeerenauslesen I have ever tasted. Ditto with any ice wines on either side of the Atlantic. In truth it feels almost as sweet as maple syrup, and perhaps that is too much of a good thing here. I would be very curious if some serious bottle-aging would give this wine greater balance, that is the one strike against it, to my taste anyway. The malmsey by comparison is a more complex, richer, and I would say satisfying experience.

[Ray Barnes]

On a retasting of this wine 24 hours after initial unstoppering, the flavour had expanded to include a pronounced molasses component in addition to the raisin, brown sugar and a little chocolate. Its overall sweetness level was maybe a little higher. This was done as part of a tasting of 4 sherries (3 spanish and 1 sherry-styled fortified chenin blanc from South Africa), both the 10 YO H & H Boal and the Broadbent Malmsey, and a vidal ice wine. My client and I still gave top marks to the Malmsey, while his brother in law, visiting here from Italy, liked this PX sherry the best of all. If one has a sweet tooth and is not too picky about matters of structure, this wine will give considerable hedonistic pleasure. It was also interesting to taste the boal and malmsey side by side with the latter having greater viscosity and overall strength.