Sopla Poniente (Rodriguez de Vera), El Coscojal PX Viejisimo 70 Year Old, Montilla-Moriles NV - 50cl

Sopla Poniente's El Coscojal Pedro Ximénez Viejísimo 70 Year Old is one of the most profound expressions of what Spanish fortified wine can achieve when given seven decades to develop in the solera system. Pedro Ximénez, made from sun-dried grapes, creates wines of extraordinary sweetness and complexity. Viejísimo status is reserved for the oldest, most venerable expressions - wines that have gone well past simply being old.

El Coscojal, a tiny bottling of exceptional rarity, comes from the ancient soleras of Montilla-Moriles, a region adjacent to Jerez with its own distinct character and tradition. The 70-year average age represents not just time but generations of solera work - countless blending sessions, careful selections, and meticulous cellar management. Pedro Ximénez grapes, grown in Córdoba's warm climate and dried in the sun before fermentation, create a wine with natural richness and concentration, and seven decades of oxidative ageing does the rest.

In the glass, the PX presents an extraordinarily deep mahogany-to-black hue, almost opaque at its deepest points - visual evidence of seven decades of development. The nose is overwhelmingly complex, revealing layer upon layer: dried fig, prune, raisin, candied orange, leather, tobacco, woodsmoke, subtle spice, and an underlying mineral, briny quality. On the palate, the wine is luxuriously sweet yet never cloying, with remarkable acidity that provides balance and freshness. Flavours of dried fruit, toffee, leather, spice, and subtle woodsmoke unfold slowly, developing and shifting with each sip. The texture is velvety and immense, the finish impossibly long. At £40 for a 50cl of something this old, it is one of the outright bargains in the fortified aisle.

How to Serve

Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled (around 14-16°C) in a small stemmed glass. Pour small measures — this is intense, and a little goes a long way. An opened bottle will keep for months.

Where to Drink It

Boisdale of Belgravia, late, when something sweet and dark is the only sensible move. Scarfes Bar at the Rosewood for a fireside glass. Dukes Bar in St James's after dinner.

Food Pairings

Exceptional after dinner with dark chocolate or a wedge of aged Manchego. Also very good poured over vanilla ice cream, which sounds like heresy and is in fact the traditional Andalusian move.