Description
A lovely sherry-style wine made in the traditional way, at one of the only remaining Bodegas in the region. ‘Dorado’ means golden as the wine is an Amontillado style, it is unfortified and has a natural alcohol level of 17% with an average of 15 years being spent in the ‘solera’. Not surprisingly the flavours and aromas are immense, complex and concentrated, with hazelnut, caramel, raisins and orange on the nose, followed by a nutty and slightly salty palate with deep umami notes.
Bodegas Gomez Nevado is just an hour’s drive from Cordoba, and was possibly the first certified organic wine grower in Spain (since 1988). The Aris (Airen), Palomino and Pedro Ximenez grapes used are all picked by hand from old vines (40+ years), and only the first pressed juice goes into the cement tanks, where natural yeasts are used to start the fermentation. All wines here are bottled straight from cask, again by hand. We recommend enjoying this fine elixir slightly chilled in a wine glass, with nuts, cured meats or cheeses.
- 17/20 JancisRobinson.com, ‘Deep burnished gold. Smells really nutty and more like an amontillado fino, with a hint of lapsang adding complexity. Intense bitter-orange peel flavour and dried tangy but sour apricots. Bone dry and intensely flavourful. Broad and a little bit rustic but flavourful.‘ Julia Harding MW, November 2016
About the estate
Gabriel Gomez is a small family producer from the heart of the Sierra Morena mountains in the Andalucian region of southern Spain. They were the first estate in Spain to use organic viticulture, as far back as 1988, and consistently produce sherry-type wines of high quality. Led by Gabriel, the family work 8 hectares of certified organic vineyards. Grass grows in between the spread out, huddled-close-to-the-ground bush vines, with the family’s flock of goats grazing and trimming back the wild flora. Sitting at roughly 500 meters elevation on a mix of clay and slate soils, the vineyards are made up of 60% Aris (called Airén to the north) and 20% each of Palomino and Pedro Ximenez. These soils, combined with serious farming, a fairly continental-Mediterranean mountain climate, and substantial vine age, lend a rich structure to Gómez Nevado wines, which is contrasted with a tight vibrancy, and a strong savory component, almost bordering on umami – a viscosity and flavour profile not found elsewhere in the land of Sherry or Montilla. The Gómez Nevado Bodega is situated on a hillside at the edge of the town of Villaviciosa de Córdoba, an hour drive from the city of Córdoba, and constructed in the traditional style, with high ceilings and windows that open at the top to increase airflow. Their grapes are manually harvested, destemmed, and crushed; they only use the first press juice, which goes into cement vats where the must will settle. Gabriel makes a pied de cuve (read natural yeasts!) from the first grapes harvested to start fermentation, and the must goes to tanks to finish the alcoholic fermentation. The wine is then transferred to old amphora by hand, where the veil of flor forms. Their wines are never fortified, and often have a natural alcohol level of around 15%. Once the flor develops, the wine goes into a solera: roughly 5 years for the Pálido and up to 15 years for the Dorado. All the Sierra Morena wines are bottled straight from the cask by hand without any type of filtration. The results are true classical wines from La Vieja Andalucia.
Delicious sherry , dry – not too dry – with a complex, nutty/citrussy flavour
Julia (verified owner) –