Montilla-Moriles and the Magic of Pedro Ximénez

Amanda and Amy visit Bodegas Alvear

Sherry lover Amanda LeNeve discovers the charms of Spain’s Montilla-Moriles region and the magic of the Pedro Ximénez grape.

by Amanda LeNeve

Southern Spain has many charms. The sunshine. The graceful Moorish architecture. The mesmerizing sounds and movements of Flamenco. The mouthwatering cuisine. And, of course, if you’re a wine geek like me, there’s lots to discover.

This part of the world is well known for its Sherry production around the town of Jerez de la Frontera. But, if you head east from Seville there’s a wine region called Montilla-Moriles which produces similar fortified wines, with a character and spirit unto itself.

That’s where we were headed.

My Spanish holiday was short and focused on visiting my friend Amy, who had spent the year traveling and painting (that’s her painting on the cover!) and was living in Seville at the time. It didn’t take much convincing, and she agreed to join me on a special wine-focused excursion—a visit to Bodegas Alvear.

Early one morning, we got in a rental car and made our way from Seville to Montilla. It was a beautiful morning. You know the kind when it’s going to be a hot day, but the air still feels dewy and crisp and the sky is bright blue? Even the ditches along the highway were pretty, lined with colourful flowering bushes.

I was excited to see some vineyards and experience wines and a winemaking style I didn’t have much experience with. It was going to be a great day.

Bodegas Alvear is probably the most established producer in this region—not only has it stayed in production longer than any other in Andalucia, but it has also remained in the Alvear family for eight generations.

Maria Alvear belongs to the current generation of Alvears running the business and was our spirit guide on this trip. Spending the day with her, touring the vineyards, learning the history of the bodega and tasting the full range of Alvear’s mouthwatering nectars, gave me an incredible appreciation for what they do (and what they’ve been doing for literally centuries).

The region of Montilla-Moriles is where the Pedro Ximénez (PX) grape thrives. PX is especially known for its ability to produce extraordinarily luscious dessert wines. Alvear is a master at making it shine in its many forms. Their wines are made using flor (a naturally occurring yeast that forms a barrier between wine and the air) and are aged in solera.

My crash course in Pedro Ximénez reminded me a lot of a trip to Germany a few years ago. We tasted more than 200 Rieslings, which sounds boring, but so wasn’t. I was continually surprised by how versatile Riesling was, the number of different things you could do with it and the way it expresses its terroir. And every style provided a thought-provoking experience with food.

Our tasting at Alvear gave me the same feelings. Each style we tasted expressed itself so differently than the one before. The flavours and aromas are intriguing and complex—salty and bitter, bright and juicy. My mouth still waters thinking about the lunch we shared with Maria alongside a glass of Alvear’s Fino. The tastes of PX stay with me today, much like the Rieslings of Germany.

The solera aging and blending process is a cool—and ancient—process in which new wine is gradually blended with old wine. In this system, barrels are organized according to the age of the wine inside and the wine is gradually moved and blended through the system. It helps to guarantee the quality and balance the yield of the product year over year.

And the aromas! Rich with dried fruit and caramel, the aromas in the solera were similar to some of the flavours you find in aged PX.

Maria also introduced us to a new project called Tres Miradas. These are non-fortified wines meant to express and celebrate the character of special vineyard sites and are not exposed to solera aging and blending. Each year, grapes from specially selected vineyards are made in three different styles. Each wine really gives you an appreciation for how the grape and terroir can express itself in such different ways.

Seeing where and how the grapes will become wine is an important part of any winery visit. You get a sense of the soil the vines are grown in, the views the grapes have as they mature, and how the vines are managed. All of these things have a big impact on how a wine will taste.

On our trip to the vineyard, we were met with views of softly rolling hills that seemed to go on forever. Though the ground is chalky white and the climate is hot, the vines were vibrantly green and dotted the landscape around us.

My memories of this visit are technicoloured—both in sight and taste. Those vineyard views set against a bright blue sky, the engaging flavours of Alvear’s wines, the ham and salmorejo (tomato dish of the area) we ate for lunch, and of course time with a good friend made this a day I won’t soon forget and hope to relive someday soon.