Lustau VORS Oloroso

Bodegas Lustau, founded in 1896, works across all three towns of the Sherry triangle and sources Palomino from Viña Montegilillo, an albariza vineyard whose white clay soils suit the grape. This Oloroso carries the VORS designation, meaning the wine has an average age of at least thirty years. Unlike Fino, an Oloroso is fortified to a higher strength before ageing, which prevents flor from forming. The wine ages oxidatively instead, in seasoned oak casks where slow contact with air over decades concentrates it as water and alcohol evaporate, deepening the colour to mahogany and building layers of nutty, spiced, dried-fruit complexity. Despite the rich aromas this is a fully dry wine, with no added sweetness. It pours deep amber to mahogany, with a nose of bitter orange, honey and walnut over a spicy background. The palate is structured and complex, with an intensity that recalls brandy, lifted by a surprising thread of acidity that keeps the long finish from turning heavy. Serve at cool room temperature in a small glass, with hard cheese, roast game, mushroom dishes or simply on its own after a meal.