Romate Cardenal Cisneros Pedro Ximenez Pedro Ximenez Sherry

On the nose this is raisins and sultanas with just a touch of nuts, dried fruit and oaky spice. A big, rich, luscious velvety palate with a strong character evoking dates and prunes. Further complexity slowly revelas itself as creamy raisins and espresso coffee. Very sweet but on the finish there is the merest hint of balancing acidity which is very welcome. PX sherries from Jerez are made with very ripe grapes that have been dried in the sun for up to 20 days. This concentrates the sugars and flavours within the grape as the water evaporates and gives rise to a much sweeter must; the wine can only achieve partial fermentation in such a high fructose environment and the end wine is very sweet with a highly concnetrated raisin-like character. This a very old one spending at least 15 years in solera. A great accompaniment to chocolate desserts and also works well with Christmas Cake and Dundee Cake. For real indulgence pour some over vanilla ice cream - or better still pour a drop into your ice cream maker! Is happy served at any tempearture between refridgerated and ambient Pedro Ximenez is the grape variety. The wine is named after the Cardinal Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros, the Grand Inquisitor. Cisneros was a major influence on Spanish policy under King Ferdiannd II at the time of Christopher Columbus who's voyages to the New World sailed from the Jerez region of Spain. The cardinal's second name would have been spelt Ximenes in his own lifetime.