La Bota de Palo Cortado 121

The evolution of the La Bota de 52, 75 and 102, a youngish Palo Cortado, is the new NV La Bota de Palo Cortado 121 Navazos, as this is a wine they started from scratch, so a proper Navazos wine, not a purchased one, but fermented by themselves with grapes from Sanlúcar. The wine is now almost 14 years old, aged oxidatively in topped-up 225-liter barrels, as it's mostly (95%) from the 2010 harvest, topped up with a little younger wine to avoid excessive concentration and age. They've always wanted a fresh and elegant wine without the complexity and depth of the old wines, but as this is aging, it's gaining in complexity and character. This is the first time I've seen the Palo Cortado character here, with finesse and complexity, still young and with some peachy notes but coming of age. It has 18% alcohol (it was fortified from the natural 12% to 17.5% to start the aging, and the increase is by evaporation and concentration) with a pH of 3.13 and 6.49 grams of acidity (tartaric). Age is not all, but it helps! 3,500 bottles produced.