Fortify Yourself 2025

SANLUCAR DE BARRAMEDA (100% Palomino)

Manzanilla is the appellation name for a Fino sherry which is raised at Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a relatively cool, humid seaside village. The resultant sherry has a definite tang of the sea, and perhaps a suggestion of camomile flower (manzanilla is Spanish for camomile). Much finer, and more delicate than finos from Jerez, inland, and usually bottled at about 15% alcohol.

We bottle and ship fresh every two months, to ensure this definitively crisp, refreshing young white wine is always in spanky form. Camomile and oyster-shell aromatics, Chablis-like mid-palate fruit, long and tangy. SCOTT WASLEY

A toffee-amber hue with a shimmer of red; very fresh and plenty of complexity for a Classic. Toffee, malt flavours, sun-bleached hay and sultana cake, lemony freshness too. The spirit is warming, balanced and there's a silkiness across the palate. In tiptop shape and a standstill bargain. (95) JANE FAULKNER, Halliday Wine Companion

Medium mahogany hue. Raisins, cinnamon and burnt toffee aromas. Deep and intense dark gold fruits with Christmas cake spices and a rich dark toffee undertone. Flows very long with a weight and intensity that demands focus. STUART KNOX, The Real Review

With six centuries of sherry production under their belts, Valdespino lay claim to being one of the oldest sherry bodegas in the region. The heart of Valdespino is their vineyards. One of the few bodegas to release single-vineyard wines, their Macharnudo holding is one of the grand crus of Jerez at the highest altitude and located on the famous, and sought-after bright white Albariza chalk soils.

From their savory and fresh Manzanilla Deliciosa and Fino Inocente, to their unctuous and intense Solera 1842 and Pedro Ximenez wines, the quality is world class and the bodega still ferment a proportion of their wines in wood, adding layers of complexity to the finish product. One of the few estates that age in solera far in excess of the DO regulations for all their styles of sherry.

This is outstanding value PX with rasins, Christmas spice, grilled walnut in a lovely rich yet fresh frame. Don't get us wrong, it's sweet and delicious but still comes of with some nice bright citrus peel and orange fruit. Yum!

A deeper wine all around, yet - for all its richness - one of the striking features is the refreshing elegance of the wine. This could go with richer desserts like plum pudding, or it is great simply on its own at the end of a meal to lift the spirits and refresh the palate! BIBENDUM

I've been tasting a lot of port recently and on several occasions this particular wine has really stood out as being much more vigorous and satisfying than its peers.  It has that slight touch of rancio that comes from many years in wood but mainly it is a thoroughly delicious blend of fruit and nuts (no chocolate).  JANCIS ROBINSON, MW

A fresh, vibrant style, showing cherry and redcurrant pâte de fruit notes, with blood orange and rooibos tea flavors. Light cinnamon and mineral nuances add to the streamlined finish. JAMES MOLESWORTH, winespectator.com

Fruitcake aromas with attractive nutty complexity; a soft touch of rancio and rather laid-back acidity makes the wine a warm and friendly style for a cold winter evening. JAMES HALLIDAY, Halliday Wine Companion

This hidden little beauty from Bleasdale is matured in small oak casks in the rafters of the winery's hot tin roof for a minimum of 7 years before blending. The result is a uniquely Aussie inspired tawny style that is so well priced you might as well by a six pack and sip it to your hearts contents all winter long and never feel guilty.

Rammed full of clove, five-spice. Licorice root, treacle, honey, plenty of baked walnut and edged with roasted brown sugar. There is that lovely edging of dried citrus peel and fruit cake mix too. Sweet and lush but not as cloying as you might think… don't get us wrong though, its sweet, and that's how we like it.

Upon demand, Gutierrez Colosia make occasionaly bottlings of super-textural Fino straight from barrel, or 'en rama'. Sacas of 5yo reserve wine is protected at 16% abv.

The nose a mix of marigold, brioche, and spiced vanilla with a hint of anise. The palate is rich and round, neither vertical nor horizontal, almost a golden ring passing through the palate. It’s full of hazelnut husk, wheat fields and honeyed lemon-water. The finish is chalky, spicy and citrus-fresh.

Like the Vintage Port, the grapes are stomped in lagares (the traditional stone vats of the Quinta), then macerate during a three-day fermentation to obtain the best possible extraction of the polyphenolic compounds. From a terrific year for this grower’s Ports, it is a rich and complex wine with gorgeous notes of wild berries and blackcurrant fruit alongside hints of dried peel and Christmas spice. True to form, it’s polished and refined with admirable poise, complexity and a twist of quality dark chocolate and sweet tobacco on the lingering finish. The newly released 2018 carries on this wine’s proud tradition of fine, structured tannins, great freshness and purity of fruit.

You don’t see that many vintage ‘port-style’ fortifieds these days, nor encounter those prepared to cellar them, but bravo for not giving in to trend, I say. This is obviously very young, with the greatest riches yet to come, but the promise is there, and then some. It smells of another time, a wine from a barrel lashed to a galleon. Fanciful, sure, but the aromas of black tea, dried dates, tarry molasses, fine vanilla and preserved cumquats all have pre-industrial trade echoes. Okay, definitely fanciful, but this is really superb. Age it for a decade or two and drink in the one sitting. Stunning. 500ml. (96) MARCUS ELLIS, Halliday Wine Companion

There is a lot going on here in this oxidative style of Banyuls. Dried figs, dates, kirsch and notes of caramel and dark chocolate combine with fine elegance and persistence. Tannins have fully integrated after 5 years in oak foudres and finishes with a fine medicinal finish. (93) - MATT STUBBS MW & TIM ATKIN MW, Languedoc Report.

After selling out of the Coume del Mas Banyuls Tradition, Philippe and Andy road tripped around the region tasting old barrels Banyuls wines and buying their favourites. As a result this cuvée has older material than the Coume del Mas version (which they are in the process of rebuilding). As it is not from estate fruit it has been bottled under the Tramontane label. Non vintage and oxidatively aged in various sized barrels, this is a complex, silky wine of great character. Serve lightly chilled with cheese, fruit and desserts, or add to darker cocktails for depth and complexity.