Brandy Duque de Veragua Solera Gran Reserva 38%, Álvaro Domecq

Appearance

Very deep brown-mahogany fading to amber with a trace of green at the rim and copper highlights.

Nose

Serious. Thirty years of ageing are really apparent giving a fairly intense and complex aroma with fairly prominent notes of old oak, caramel, toffee, traces of dried fruit, walnut, Oloroso,and hints of brown sugar and bitter orange marmalade all melding together. Full bodied, rich and very Jerezano.

Palate

Fairly sweet on entry then that body comes through but without all the expected tannin. It has a certain dry tannic feel though, and the slight wood notes one would expect but they are by no means excessive and it is actually very smooth with all the sweeter elements of dates, raisins, Oloroso and caramel helping round it off and the finish is fairly dry, very complex and almost interminable.

Comments

This outstanding brandy is distilled from 95% Airén and 5% Palomino grapes in alquitaras and consists entirely of selected holandas. It has an average solera age of 30 years and the butts are very well seasoned with Oloroso mostly for over 100 years. The solera consists of one criadera made up of 600 litre butts which give a gentler initial ageing as the proportion of wood to brandy is less, before the brandy is transferred to the solera which comprises smaller butts of 250 litres which give greater intensity. The Duchy of Veragua was conceded by king Carlos I of Spain to the family of Christopher Columbus in 1537.

Price

39.60 euros, Licores Corredera