N.V. Luis XIV Fondillon Edad Superior 50 yo

Fondillon is a rancio (deliberately oxidised or maderised) style of wine unique to Spain’s Mediterranean province of Alicante; the wines are stored for decades at a time in traditional tonel barrels in humid cellars. They are made from the Monastrell grape variety, and matured in a solera system like an Oloroso sherry. They are not fortified, but have a naturally high percentage of alcohol from the very ripe grapes they were made from. The Luis XIV Fondillon wines come from a cellar that had lain undisturbed since the 1960s. The 50-year-old is concentrated and balsamic, with notes of tobacco, candyfloss, lapsang souchong and treacle. It is even a touch saline, and has a thrilling, concentrated acidity. It is also immensely complex, and nigh-on impossible to spit. A meditation wine, and a vinous piece of history. (NT 22/03/22)