Ximénez-Spínola PX Añada 2023

Ximénez-Spínola PX Añada 2023 is a single-vintage Pedro Ximénez from the Ximénez-Spínola winery in the Marco de Jerez, Andalusia, made entirely from the variety the house specialises in. The grapes are left to dry in the sun for around a week after picking, a process that shrivels the berries to raisins and concentrates their sugar dramatically: the wine's sweetness is entirely natural, coming from the grape with no additives. Because the sun-drying yields only a small volume of intensely sugared must, the wine is dense and concentrated from the outset. After fermentation is arrested it spends three months in American oak barrels, a short maturation that adds a light vanilla and toast frame while keeping the wine in a fresh, fruit-driven young style rather than the deep oxidative character of long-aged PX. It pours dark and glossy. The nose leads with raisin, dried fig and date over honey and a hint of vanilla from the oak. On the palate it is thick, sweet and concentrated, with a caramel depth and a long finish. Serve lightly chilled at around 12 to 14 degrees in a small glass. It works with dark chocolate, ice cream and aged hard cheese.