Emilio Hidalgo La Panesa Especial Fino Sherry
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Robert
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Winemaker Notes
This wine can stand up to fuller-flavored dishes such as salmon a la plancha, sesame-seared ahi tuna, or gazpacho.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
“Fino Amontillado” is a style of Sherry that’s virtually extinct. It was made from old wines that had almost lost their flor and had begun to oxidize, their color darkening as they gained depth and complexity. Although La Panesa is not, strictly speaking, a Fino Amontillado, it has the characteristics of those wines from the past. With an average of 15 years of aging in solera (ten more than most Finos), it takes the lifespan of flor to the limit, creating a wine that’s intoxicating in its mineral and dried-fruit fragrance. Bone dry, saline flavors drive the wine from beginning to end, their abundance leaving no room for sweetness. This is the definition of verticality and elegance.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Fino La Panesa N/V is a reference for old Fino, pushing the limits of biological aging. Bottled at an impressive old age of 15 years from a solera created in 1961, it shows a deep golden color and a nose full of dried nuts (hazelnuts), elegant, complex and balanced, with intense salinity, pungent flavors, a full, wide palate and great length. This is a superb example of how to control the power of very old, biological Sherries. As with most of the NV wines, its impossible to distinguish the different bottlings so it"s hard to give a drinking window, because you"ll not know how old the bottle you have is, but the wine has the stuffing to last and even improve for a good five years. This is one of the greatest Finos in existence today."
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Decanter
This small producer in Jerez does not seek publicity but is worth tracking down. All the wines are excellent and several exceptional. The complex La Panesa is one for the grown-ups, at the very limit of flor ageing, at an average 15 years old.
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Wine Spectator
Shows lots of range, featuring singed persimmon, dried nectarine, walnut and green tea notes, with a long bitter almond note on the finish. A big fino with invigorating acidity.
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Wine Enthusiast
Tan in color and elegant beyond what's normal, this high-end fino shows full, complex aromas of honey, citrus, rancio, dried gouda cheese and nuttiness. It feels both easy and fresh, with dry, intense flavors of citrus and almond. Long and smooth on the finish, with zero burn or bite.
By the beginning of the 20th century the winery was already well established, with a devoted following in Spain and the U.K. By the 1970s, Bodegas Emilio Hidalgo had expanded exportation to discerning Sherry drinkers in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Denmark, the U.S. and Japan.
Today, the fifth generation of Hidalgos runs the winery, carrying on the family’s rich Sherry-making heritage. This new generation maintains the traditions that have been carefully preserved and enriched for more than 130 years. Through their efforts, Bodegas Emilio Hidalgo continues to be recognized worldwide for its high quality and distinct style. The winery has received countless accolades from Sherry connoisseurs and top critics.
Sherry is a fortified wine that comes in many styles from dry to sweet. True Sherry can only be made in Andalucía, Spain where the soil and unique seasonal changes give a particular character to its wines. The process of production—not really the grape—determine the type, though certain types are reserved for certain grapes. Palomino is responsible for most dry styles; Pedro Ximénez and Muscat of Alexandria are used for blending or for sweet styles.
Known more formally as Jerez de la Frontera, Jerez is a city in Andalucía in southwest Spain and the center of the Jerez region and sherry production. Sherry is a mere English corruption of the term Jerez, while in French, Jerez is written, Xérès. Manzanilla is the freshest style of sherry, naturally derived from the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.