The best wine Pedro Ximenez
Our selections of the best Pedro Ximénez wines
Pedro Ximénez wine is made with grapes of the variety that bears the same name and which are dried in the sun so that they become raisined and thus obtain a must with a lot of sugar. The result is a black wine with hints of gold and a lot of aroma. It is a sweet drink, which can be enjoyed on its own or with ice and is highly appreciated in the kitchen, since its reduction produces some of the best sauces to accompany meats and stews.
1. Lustau Sweet Wine Pedro Ximénez San Emilia Jeréz
If you are looking for the best Pedro Ximénez wine to accompany desserts, the Lustau winery is your best choice.
It is a wine that has won the international gold medal of the Wine Challenge in 2017 and 2019. It is a high-quality sherry, coming from the wineries founded by Emilio Lustau and that have specialized in fine, light and full-bodied odorous wines.
It is a dark wine, mahogany in color with golden reflections. With firm tears in the glass, it has an intense aroma of raisins, dates and figs.
On the palate it is very soft, very sweet and almost velvety to the touch, with a natural acidity resulting from fermentation, which balances the flavor and finishes it off with a bright hue.
It has 17 degrees of alcohol and is aged for 12 years in barrels. The grapes used for its elaboration are left in the sun in the vineyard itself, so that the natural concentration of sugars improves.
2. González Byass Nectar PX Sweet Wine DO Jerez 6 bottles
This is an ideal sherry to drink after a meal. If you are wondering what Pedro Ximénez wine to buy to give to a lover of this type of wine, the Nectar PX could be the most indicated.
As is customary in sherry wineries, the grapes used to make this wine are “sunned” in the vineyard itself during the month of August, to achieve the ideal raisin production.
The result is a sweet and fragrant wine, ebony in color with golden reflections. It is a wine with a very characteristic visual intensity, as it leaves a lot of tears in the glass.
On the nose it is very rich, with a predominance of sweet notes of dried fruit such as figs, dates or raisins, accompanied by sweet aromas of honey, arrobe and candied fruit.
On the palate it is thick, extremely sweet, but with a natural acidity that balances the flavor and a long finish.
This 15-proof wine is designed to be served cold, in a long, narrow glass. It is a perfect broth to accompany cheeses and desserts, although it can be a dessert by itself.
3. González Byass Noé Pedro Ximénez very old DO Jerez
The vineyards of the González Byass wineries are located in the city of Jerez, in Andalusia, the birthplace of this grape and this type of sweet wine. With 800 hectares of vineyards located 70 m above sea level, the Pedro Ximénez variety grapes ripen in an area with a hot and humid climate.
When they are ripe, they are collected and left to dry in the sun on the ground, in this way the water that the grape contains evaporates and the sugar is concentrated.
It is a sweet wine of high quality, with a better tasting than other cheaper options, thanks to the fact that it is a “very old” sweet wine, with more than 30 years of maturation.
It has an intense ebony color, with sweet aromas of figs, raisins and coffee, mixed with spices. On the palate it is very intense, since it has a lot of body, it is very sweet and fresh, with a slightly acid touch at the end that makes it very appetizing.
This Pedro Ximénez wine has a graduation of 15.5 degrees and should be served cold. It is an ideal sweet wine for dessert, especially to accompany chocolate ice creams and, especially, for dark chocolate ice creams with an intense flavor.
4. Cardinal Cisneros Sherry Pedro Ximénez
This Cardenal Cisneros sherry could be considered one of the best Pedro Ximénez wines of 2022. With 15 years of aging in American oak barrels, it is a wine with a very good palate and a very complete texture.
It is made with Pedro Ximénez variety grapes, which undergo a “soleo” process to raisin and whose musts achieve great complexity and aromatic concentration.
It has a very dark and dense mahogany color, with iodized reflections and a delicate and smooth aroma, with notes of raisins and oak wood.
On the palate it is very sweet, almost unctuous, with the characteristic flavor of raisins and a slightly acid and alcoholic touch that balance it.
It is a sweet wine that should be served cool, at a temperature between 12 and 14 degrees, ideal to accompany sweet pastries, cheeses and ice creams.
5. Romate Wine Pedro Ximénez
If you are looking for the best quality-price Pedro Ximénez wine, this sherry from the Sánchez Romate winery could be what you are looking for.
It is a sweet wine with DO Jerez, which is made using the traditional criaderas and soleras methods, with grapes that have been turned into raisins in the sun and matured in American oak barrels, previously used for wine aging.
In the glass it is very showy, with a very dense mahogany color and a golden reflection, with good tears and soft and delicate aromas of dried sweet fruits such as figs and raisins. On the palate it is very sweet and pleasant, with an acid and alcoholic finish that balances it.
It is a perfect wine to serve cool, between 12 and 14 degrees, and pairs very well with blue cheese, fine sweet pastries and also with ice cream or served alone, as a dessert wine.
6. Malaga Virgin Sweet Wine Pedro Ximénez
Málaga Virgen could be the best brand of Pedro Ximénez wines in Spain. This winery was founded in 1885 by Salvador López López and was renamed Bodegas Málaga Virgen in honor of its world-famous sweet wine.
The Pedro Ximénez grape is home-grown and matures at its Vista Hermosa estate, where it is subjected to “solea” so that it raisins and concentrates the sugars.
The result, after oxidative aging for 24 months in American oak barrels, is a very sweet wine, appreciated in the kitchen and, above all, for making pastries and desserts.
It has a dark color, with toasted reflections and both the aroma and the taste are very sweet, with notes reminiscent of raisins and nuts, with a final alcoholic touch that balances the flavors and makes it lighter.
This sherry pairs perfectly with nuts, cured cheese, Iberian ham and is also perfect as a dessert wine. It should always be served fresh, between 12 and 14 degrees.
7. Don Pedro Ximenez Toro Albala
The PX Toro Albalá is considered by many users to be the best Pedro Ximénez wine of the moment. This wine is the specialty of the winery, which has been open since 1922.
Each bottle is treated with the utmost exclusivity, from the grape harvest to the raisin process. The result is a sherry with its own personality, a signature wine that seeks to excite you.
It is a young Pedro Ximénez wine, with an intense amber color and a thick body. On the nose, it allows you to enjoy the aromas of cocoa, figs, honey, raisins and dates.
On the palate it is a daring, persistent and long wine, with always sweet flavors of raisins, honey and croccante, with a long and somewhat bitter finish, which balances and provides freshness.
It is a wine that should be served cold, between 8 and 12 degrees and that will be perfect to pair with your desserts, with blue cheeses and also with fresh fruit and all kinds of pastries.
8. Alvear 1927 Pedro Ximenez
If you are wondering which is the best Pedro Ximénez wine for your kitchen, this Alvear 1927 could be what you are looking for.
But don’t be fooled, it is more than just a simple sweet cooking wine, as it has been awarded 96 points in the Parker guide, which guarantees that this DO Montilla Moriles wine can be enjoyed on its own.
It is a sweet wine that works very well for all kinds of sauces and reductions, as well as for making pastries drunk and also for fruit salads.
It is a young sherry, with only 5 years of barrel maturation, golden in color and fine tears, with very sweet aromas and a flavor that resembles caramel.
It can be served in a narrow glass, very cold, and it is a good wine to accompany desserts, especially bonbons and chocolates; although where it shines is in the kitchen.
9. Ximénez-Spínola old Pedro Ximénez sweet wine
This old sherry with DO Jerez-Xérèz-Sherry, is made with grapes of the Pedro Ximénez variety in the Ximénez-Spínola wineries, which date back to 1700.
Currently, these sweet wines are made by the ninth generation of winemakers, with grapes harvested and “sunny” until they are raisined in the vineyards of the town of Las Tablas in Jerez de la Frontera.
It is a limited edition wine, so it has a higher quality than other cheap sherries. In its elaboration, it is continuously mixed with other wines from different barrels to obtain the greatest complexity of its aromas and flavors.
It is a sherry with a dark chocolate color, with aromas of roasted coffee and raisins. On the palate it is very sweet, with raisins dominating and a slightly bitter finish reminiscent of wood.
It should be served at about 14 degrees and is perfect to accompany seasonal fruit, nuts and all kinds of fresh and soft cheeses.
10. Malaga Virgin Pedro Ximénez Family Reserve
This Pedro Ximénez wine is the result of blending several young sweet DO Málaga wines that have been made with selected grapes and “sun-dried” in raisins, on esparto baskets for 10 days, to remove water and balance the sugars.
The musts obtained from the pressings are very dense and are oxidized in toasted French oak barrels, and then mixed to give rise to this Reserva de la Familia.
The result is a very particular sweet wine with a dark mahogany color and iodinated reflections. With intense aromas of dried fruit such as dates and figs, notes of wood and roasted coffee.
On the palate it has a very sweet but elegant taste, thanks to a mixture of raisins and the slight bitterness of the alcohol.
It is a wine to serve cold, between 12 and 16 degrees, which will serve to accompany desserts and also for cooking, since it is very sweet.
Origin and Use
Now that you know our selection, we will continue the article with a guide to buying the best Pedro Ximénez wine, in which you will discover the exciting history of this variety of grapes and sweet wines, we will talk about the main blends and cocktails, the best ways to conservation and, finally, we will review its nutritional value and unique properties.
History
Pedro Ximénez is a Moscatel-type grape variety, which is grown in some regions of Spain. This grape offers sweet, dark-colored wines that are highly appreciated in confectionery, cooking, and can also be enjoyed as a dessert, served very cold in a thin, narrow glass. The Pedro Ximénez grape is also known as the Alamis grape, Pedro Ximén, Pero Ximén, Ximén or Ximénez.
Although it is not known with certainty, some anthropological studies indicate that this grape comes from the Canary Islands and that it crossed all of Europe to the banks of the Rhine, to return to our country in the 16th century. The person responsible for this long journey is believed to have been a soldier of Emperor Charles V, a certain Peter Siemens or Pedro Ximén, who fought in the famous Flanders Tercios.
Other studies indicate that the Ximénez of the legend could actually be a Spanish Cardinal, named Ximénez, who was ambassador to the court of Emperor Charles in Frankfurt and who, at a banquet offered by the Emperor’s court in the German region of Rheingau, would enjoy some of the wines of that locality, almost all of them made with Riesling grapes. Cardinal Ximénez, on his return to Spain, brought these grapes with him, which improved thanks to the climatic conditions of the southern region of Spain, where they would become the famous Pedro Ximénez.
A third version of the story places Pedro Ximénez grapes in Spain since ancient times. According to this version, this variety was introduced to the peninsula by the Phoenicians, who would call it “Drop of Gold”, at the time of the Greek and Mesopotamian colonization. The Romans, knowing it, would encourage its cultivation for its value and, Pedro Ximénez, would become a winemaker who produced wines of the highest quality and who invented a new way of making wine, improving traditional techniques, to produce sweet sherry wine., which would later take his name.
blends
We continue with this comparison of Pedro Ximénez wines with a selection of cocktails and mixes with which to enjoy this sweet wine. Of all the sherry cocktails, the best known is the Bamboo, made by Louis Eppinger, the father of Japanese cocktails, which is made with Pedro Ximénez wine, dry vermouth and orange bitters.
Another classic is the Sherry Mary, a version of the Bloody Mary in which vodka is replaced by Pedro Ximénez wine.
Of all the Pedro Ximénez blends, there is none that is as Spanish as the Rebujito. This drink born in the 90s of the last century, is actually a version of the Sherry Cobbler, and is made with chamomile, mint, lots of ice and soda.
Another cocktail that cannot be missing from the bar of any Pedro Ximénez lover is the Sherry Flip, a mixture of sherry, milk cream, sugar and egg white, which is mixed in a shaker and served in a chilled martini glass.
Conservation
Long oxidative aging wines, such as Pedro Ximénez, can keep their characteristics intact for years and even decades. However, this will depend on the quality of the wine and how much it costs, so an old limited edition Pedro Ximénez will keep longer than a cheap one.
In any case, it is important to bear in mind that, once the bottle is opened, the wine will degrade more quickly. To keep it as long as possible, while it is not opened it should be kept horizontal, away from the sun and at a constant temperature, if possible in a cool space.
Once opened, it can be stored vertically, although it should also be in a cool, dry place, at a constant temperature and, if possible, in a space free of vibrations and as stable as possible.
Nutritional value
Pedro Ximénez sweet wine has natural antioxidant properties, thanks to its unique fermentation with natural yeasts and the raisin process to which the grapes are subjected.
They are generous wines, very pleasant to consume; In 100 ml there are 160 kcal, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 0.2 grams of protein and no fat. It also contains 0.1 mg of folic acid and 0.4 mg of iron, as well as 4 mg of calcium.
drink responsibly
Pedro Ximénez wines usually have an alcohol concentration of between 12 and 14 degrees, so responsible consumption is recommended and you should never drive after consuming them.
