Fortified Wine


Or indeed for any other day in the year… Blandy’s Madeira 10 Year Old tasting gift pack (£36.49 Amazon, Speciality Drinks, Lance Strother, Cambridge Wines, Thomas Peatling, Liquorice, In the Pink , Shenfield Wine , Guildford Wine Co , Peake Wine) The packs contains 1 x 20cl bottle of each […]

Some Madeira for Fathers’ Day anyone?


…beginning with sherry Barbadillo Manzanilla Pasada Pastora En Rama (2017 bottling), Spain (£9.99 per half Amazon, Cambridge Wine Merchants, Taurus Wines, Roberts and Speight, The Dorset Wine Co, Mumbles Fine Wine) Has the classic bracing briny edge of Manzanilla, but this is deeper in colour, and weightier, with pungest yeasty […]

A selection of sweet and fortified wines…




Ramos Pinto LBV Port 2011, Douro, Portugal (~£19 widely available) LBV is supposed to be ready to drink on release, but this is a bit of a pup, and seems to be built to survive another decade or more. Dark, young and juicy, packed with blackberry, blackcurrant and damson flavours, […]

Ramos Pinto LBV 2011 + Some Wine Gadgets


A superb wine, not just for International Sherry Week Fernando de Castilla Antique Amontillado NV, Spain (£23.99 per 50cl Virgin Wines*) Wonderful gentle yet complex style, with lush flavours of creamy butter toffee, tangy Christmas cake fruits and spices and a touch of herbs. Soft yet persistent and heady, with a […]

Fernando de Castilla Antique Amontillado NV, Spain


Barbadillo Solear Manzanilla, Spain (£6 per half/£9.50 per full bottle widely available) Punchy and pungent, lightly salty with a proving bread dough character and a persistent finish – make you crave nibbles… S- Barbadillo Manzanilla Pasada En Rama ‘Pastora’, Spain (£13 Taurus Wines, The Solent Cellar, Roberts & Speight, Baythorne […]

In celebration of International Sherry Week…