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Luis Gutiérrez, Robert Parker's critic for Spain writes:
"The NV Tradicion Amontillado VORS certainly has the more complex and subtle nose of all these VORS and averages 45 years old. It has a very clean nose, with elegance and complexity, strong but subtle notes of hazelnuts, honey and even some dates. The medium-bodied palate shows a sharp wine with strong salinity, it has power and lightness in a very difficult combination. Drink 2013-2020.
Bodegas Tradicion, despite its name, is one of the youngest wineries in Jerez. It was founded in 1998, which is not so common as most of the houses have been in operation for generations. It is also unusual for a winery to sell only old wines, even more so when it is a young business. But that is exactly what Bodegas Tradicion is all about. They have bought wines (botas and soleras) from everyone: Osborne, Bobadilla, Croft, Domecq, Sandeman? At the beginning they had maybe 200 botas, and now they have around 1,000. The market was extremely tough for sherry at the time they started, and trying to sell a new name and only old wines was almost impossible. In 2003 they sold a total of 600 bottles, whereas today they sell 18,000-20,0000 bottles a year. In the beginning they sold only VORS (and a VOS) and then worked their way up to younger wines to feed their soleras. They have now even released a Fino (a very old Fino, but a Fino nonetheless) and explained that although they started by buying very old Soleras, they now need younger wines and do not rule out the possibility of even having to buy their own vineyards in the future. A winery like Benjamin Button! Jose Maria Quiros, who was winemaker at Agustin Blazquez and later at Domecq and has been a consultant for Alvear in Montilla-Moriles for 15 years, is responsible for the wines. His goal is to preserve the traditions and keep the wines as pure and true to their style as possible. The wines are clean, elegant, precise, well-defined, focused, true to type and truly traditional. All the wines have a handwritten lot number and the vintage on the label."
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