The anadas, of which they are very proud, are single vintage
wines which have not been involved with the usual solera system. The wines,
selected from the best of their particular vintage, were fortified to 18% and
simply left to age, untouched save for the occasional tiny sample taken, and
have all evolved into Palos Cortados, Olorosos or Amontillados.
The first anadas were laid down in 1920, when the family put
aside a butt to celebrate the birth of a new family member. They continued to
do this, and in 1924 decided to make it a permanent custom, the wine always
being from the same vineyard in the Balbaina.
Nearly every year since 1920 is represented, but there are difficulties:
as the wine has been ageing statically without being refreshed - like it would
have been in a solera. Thus the evaporation losses are considerable, and some
vintages have had to be racked into smaller barrels, every 15 years or so, to
conserve them. In fact it is reckoned that after about 70 years, the entire
contents of a butt would evaporate.
Certain vintages are not in butts. The 1992 was never made
due to a strike at harvest time. When little remains in the smaller barrels,
the wines are bottled to preserve them. There is a wooden cabinet which
contains 1926, 1930, 1933, 1938 and 1939. There is also a bottle there to
commemorate the firm’s first centenary.
It is fascinating to observe how the wines have evolved –
and continue to do so – over the years. They gradually get darker, improve in
flavour and gently rise in alcoholic strength up to about 22%. For example, the
1930 was classified in 1957 as an “acceptable wine” and by 1965 it was
classified as “viejisimo” (very old). They never stop developing. There is a fascinating
discussion on this in Beltran Domecq’s excellent book “EL Jerez y sus Misterios”
– he was involved with the classifications.
The complete W&H collection of anadas is unique in
Jerez, and has been the subject of a successful study by the University of
Cadiz to find a model for certifying the age of vintage wines with a view to
doing the same for other very old wines. These wines are rarely drawn from the
butt or bottled, but in 1999, the famous auctioneers Christies arrived in
Jerez, and tasted the wines in the minutest detail. Some wine was bottled and
sold at auction at an average of 250 euros a bottle. Subsequently two further
auctions, in New York and Los Angeles took place, and then another in London.
There are a few other vintage wines around, notably from
Gonzalez Byass, but the W&H collection is unique and very special – and something
to look out for when you next visit.
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