White grape variety
Pedro Ximénez
The grape behind the darkest and sweetest sherry, made from sun-dried grapes.
What is Pedro Ximénez?
PX grapes are laid out in the sun to raisin before pressing, concentrating sugar to extraordinary levels. The resulting wine can exceed 400 g/l of residual sugar.
It is closer to a syrup than to conventional wine, almost black in colour, and works with chocolate and over vanilla ice cream where almost nothing else will.
The Vitis International Variety Catalogue, maintained by the Julius Kühn Institute, holds this variety as accession 9080 under the prime name PEDRO XIMENEZ, with berry skin colour blanc and country of origin spain, and the pedigree "HEBEN X ?". Checked 2026-08-17.
What it tastes like
This is the envelope across every expression of Pedro Ximénez, not a description of one bottle. Wide ranges are the honest answer.
| Dimension | Typical | Range | Variation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | high | Some variation | |
| Acidity | low-medium | Some variation | |
| Alcohol | high | Some variation | |
| Body | high | Some variation | |
| Fruit intensity | high | Some variation | |
| Aromatic intensity | medium | Consistent | |
| Oak influence | low | Consistent | |
| Savoury character | medium | Some variation | |
| Floral character | low | Consistent | |
| Herbal / green character | low | Consistent | |
| Spice | low | Consistent | |
| Earthy character | low | Consistent | |
| Perceived freshness | medium | Consistent | |
| Texture | high | Some variation |
Common flavours
Wines made from it
The same grape in different places and different hands. These are where the wide ranges above resolve into something specific.
Sweet fortified wine
Wines where spirit is added mid-fermentation, killing the yeast and leaving natural sweetness — Port, Madeira, Banyuls and their relatives.
Spain
Pedro Ximénez sherry
Almost-black sherry from sun-dried grapes — closer to raisin syrup than to wine, and one of the few things that works with chocolate.
Where it grows
- Jerez — Spain
If you like Pedro Ximénez, try…
Every suggestion says why it is connected and what will be different.
Closest matches
What is most like this?
Muscat of Alexandria
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be drier, and more aromatic.
Malvasia
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be drier, and lighter.
Bual
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and lighter.
Similar but lighter
Something like this, but lighter?
Muscat of Alexandria
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be drier, and more aromatic.
Malvasia
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be drier, and more aromatic.
Grenache Blanc
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be drier, and more restrained in fruit.
Similar but lower in alcohol
Something like this, but less alcoholic?
Coteaux du Layon
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and lighter in alcohol.
Xarel·lo
Both come from the same country.
Expect it to be drier, and lighter.
Godello
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be drier, and fresher and more acidic.
Similar but more structured
Something like this, but with more grip?
Malvasia
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be drier, and lighter.
Kisi
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be drier, and fresher and more acidic.
Rkatsiteli
Rkatsiteli scores closest to Pedro Ximénez across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect it to be drier, and fresher and more acidic.
What to eat with it
Ranked by WineHQ's pairing engine, which reasons from the structure of the dish.
Fillet steak
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
Asparagus
Works because bitterness in the dish and tannin in the wine accumulate rather than balance.
Trout
Works because low tannin avoids the metallic interaction with fish.
Turkey
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
Artichoke
Works because bitterness in the dish and tannin in the wine accumulate rather than balance.
Cauliflower and brassicas
Works because bitterness in the dish and tannin in the wine accumulate rather than balance.
What to avoid with it
Dishes the pairing engine scores badly, and the principle that explains why. A short list: most things are fine.
How to serve it
Temperature
12–15°C
54–59°F · Lightly chilled
About 45 minutes to an hour in the fridge from room temperature, or take it out of the fridge about an hour before serving.
Decanting
No need to decant
Nothing about this wine suggests it needs decanting. Light, aromatic and sparkling wines generally lose more than they gain.
Glass
Universal wine glass
A medium tulip-shaped glass handles almost everything well. If you own one set of glasses, this is the set to own — the difference between a good universal glass and a grape-specific one is far smaller than the difference between a good glass and a bad one.
Ageing
Structured wines made from this grape commonly improve with age, though everyday bottlings do not.
Sun-dried before pressing and fortified, giving a wine so concentrated in sugar that it is effectively stable. PX from an old solera has already spent decades in cask; a bottle keeps for years after opening, which is true of almost nothing else on the site.
Sources
Sources consulted
- Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) — Julius Kühn-Institut, Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof
- Consejo Regulador de las Denominaciones de Origen Jerez-Xérès-Sherry — Consejo Regulador del Jerez