Brotons Centenario Solera 1880 Fondillón (75cl, 18%)

This is a Fondillón from Roberto Brotons in Alicante, Spain, made from Monastrell, the local name for Mourvèdre. The grapes come from old bush vines on sandstone, picked very ripe in late October or November from low yields. The wine is fermented and aged in large, old wooden vats of 1,500 to 2,000 litres, then left for decades with no intervention and allowed to age in an oxidative way. Time and heat concentrate it naturally, so it is bottled without fortification or additives.