him what specifically the wine was, and after he read the label I had to suppress a bit of a giggle, The wine in question was an Alvear Pedro Ximinez Montilla-Moriles Solera 1927. It turns out he had mixed this up with another very different wine at a tasting he attended and wasn't at all what he was after, and would I be willing to take it off his hands. "You Betcha!", this Alvear is one of my favorite dessert wines, stuffed full of dried fig, banana bread, chocolate, sweet spice, raisin, etc.... I just love it and a 500ml bottle can usually be had for less than $20. Montila-Moriles is a wine region near Adalucia, Spain that produces wines very similar to sherry (Jerez). This particular one is made entirely of Pedro Ximinez grapes that have been dried to near raisins before being vinified, as well as coming from a Solera that was begun in 1927. I paired it that night with decadent dark chocolates from Richart. I also love it with blue cheeses like Cabrales, Maytag, or Cashel Blue.Photo borrowed from ulteriorepicure.
