Barquero Amontillado 1905 Solera Fundacional Lot C

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate"There is a new bottling of their oldest and more special wine, the NV 1905 Amontillado Solera Fundacional Lot C 2024, a wine that changes very little, and even the nuances between different bottlings (which I have never had the chance to taste together) are difficult to put into words, but the wine is surely exceptional and world class. There have been three different bottlings, this one marked as C is from 2024 (the previous ones were the original one in 2002; a second one, marked with the letter B in January 2016; and now this third one from September 2024). They only fill 1,000 bottles every 10 years or so to keep the average age of the wine very old, which they believe is over 90 years old now. Similar to the second bottling, the small refresh of the wine almost 10 years ago seems to do it good, adding a little freshness while keeping the very-old wine profile, pungent, powerful and concentrated. These old wines are always labeled with the maximum allowed alcohol, 22%, but when a label says 22%, you always suspect the reality might be even higher, especially in wines as old as this one. It's not fair to taste any other Amontillado next to this one, only wines like Coliseo from Valdespino or some of the oldest bottlings from Navazos have this level of complexity, power and pungency. What I find exceptional in this wine is its ability to keep the elegance, poise and balance, being so extremely old and concentrated. There were 1,000 hand-numbered bottles C-0001 to C-1000 filled in September 2024. I guess there will not be another bottling of this wine for another eight to 10 years. I always say the same thing: beware of the vintage on the label, which might be misleading, as it's not the real vintage of the wine, which is a dynamic blend of old wines, and 1905 is the year the winery was created." - 100 point