11.4.17 Various Interesting Snippets of News

Williams & Humbert have announced the first lecture for 2017 in their Ciclo de Conferencias. It will be given by Manuel Pimentel, writer, agricultural engineer, businessman and ex-president of the DO Montilla-Moriles on the subject of the changes in society, bodegas and Consejos Reguladores which wine faces. Entry is free but one must confirm attendance to the bodega.

Two wines from Bodegas Tradición CZ have triumphed in a recent blind tasting of 400 Spanish wines in Barcelona. The Amontillado VORS and the Palo Cortado VORS were both awarded the highest score of 95 points – seven points higher than the average of 88 - by wine expert and 2007 Best Sommelier in the World, Andreas Larsson.  Blindtasted.com was set up as a promotional tool for wine producers whereby all wines would be tasted blind in identical conditions.

Barbadillo’s Amontillado Versos 1891 has won a gold medal for brand packaging in the Best Awards 2017. Only 100 bottles of the wine were sold, at 10,000€ each, on the 125 anniversary of the birth of Manuel Barbadillo, poet and bodeguero who was linked to the “generation of 27” which included names like Rafel Alberti and Federico García Lorca.

Fundador have begun restoration work on the Torre de Riquelme, part of the old city wall which nestles between the bodega buildings and was part of the historic but now disappeared Puerta de Rota. It has long been in a very poor state and now that the necessary permissions have been granted,work has begun.

The remains of José María Ruiz Mateos, founder of Rumasa, have been exhumed for a DNA sample by order of the court. This is to prove once and for all whether or not he was the father of Adela Montes de Oca who has long claimed to be his daughter. Three times he found excuses not to give a sample while he was still alive.

Bodegas: Robertson Bros & Co

The history of this firm goes back to 1847 when James Nisbet Robertson joined British wine merchants Burdon & Gray, and traded mainly in Sherry until 1856 when John Gray died and the firm became Robertson Brothers. From 1860 the firm traded as Robertson Bros & Co, a partnership of John Robertson, Peter Robertson Rodger and Stormonth Darling Tait. Robertsons had a trading agreement with B Vergara & Co (later Hijos de B Vergara), shipping Sherry as Vergara Robertson & Co until 1886.

John Robertson

Between 1888 and 1893 they worked in partnership with Juan P Marks, whose bodegas were opposite at Calle Pizarro 10-12, while the Robertson bodegas were at number 13. They occupied 4,500 square metres and there was another bodega in Calle Guadalete. For a while they even had a bodega in El Puerto. Virtually all their wine, which was of the traditional full bodied rounded style, was shipped to England. In 1896 they moved to spacious premises in the Paseo de las Delicias located on the eastern side of Jerez where they had their bodegas, offices, presses and everything necessary for the Sherry trade. The Robertson Bros & Co partnership was dissolved in 1897.

Moving ever closer to the Port trade, they had greatly increased their interests there with the purchase in 1881 of various Port installations from Allen & Co, including Quinta Nova de D Roza and Quinta Roncão along with the vintage Port brand Rabello Valente. In 1910 the Sherry bodegas were moved to Calle San Francisco de Paula, and from around 1912 they were owned by Williams & Humbert and sold to Sandeman in 1963. Sandeman was itself taken over by Seagram in 1980 and now belongs to the Portuguese group Sogrape, for whom the name Robertson remains a sous marque.

Lagar Ambrosio NV 12.5%, Bodegas Ambrosio

Appearance

Bright, pale green tinged gold with golden highlights, legs.

Nose

Fresh and very attractive mix of yellow fruits, white flowers and herbs; it really smells of the countryside where it comes from. There are notes of quince, apricot and plum, possibly even kiwi, none of which dominate the lovely florality.

Palate

There is an element of sweetness here from the late harvested grapes but it is balanced out by a trace of bitterness typical of the grape, leaving a dry feel. This gives the wine an interesting texture, as if sweet wine were blended with dry, and good balance. It is fruity, tangy refreshing and quite idiosyncratic, in the nicest possible way.

Comments

This interesting and attractive wine has real character and is made from the Perruno grape, once widespread in the Sierra de Cádiz but pretty much all that is left now is the 3 hectare vineyard belonging to José Antonio Bocanegra Párraga and his sister Ana who inherited it from their father in 1982 along with the family tabanco. It is located in Olvera in the Sierra de Cádiz. Perruno has almost died out largely because its yields are low and it has thin skins which are difficult to ripen requiring late harvesting. Its very name translates as "not good". It may turn out to be a useful grape with an ever warming climate, however. Nevertheless the Bocanegras have persevered and succeeded. The wine is not aged in oak and is bottled young. I believe it is a 2015, but couldn't find any reference to vintage on the labels or cork.

Price

7.15 euros, Licores Corredera

8.4.17 Vinoble 2018 Dates Announced; More Medals for Sherry

The X edition of the biennial fortified and sweet wine fair will take place in Jerez on 3^rd – 5^th June 2018. Setting dates is tricky as there are many other wine fairs in May and other events in Jerez itself, but this time the dates have been set early, allowing plenty of time for organisers and exhibitors to prepare. The council has recognised the importance of the fair to Sherry and to Jerez and wants to make a better job of it than last time.

(foto:cristogarcia/andaluciainformacion)

The XIII Concurso Internacional de Vinos y Espirituosos (Premios CINVE) took place recently in Huelva, and an international panel of judges tasted over 650 samples from four continents. All the fortified wine winners were from Andalucia, including the following Sherries:

Francisco Yuste: Manzanilla Aurora: Gold

                              Manzanilla Señorita Irene: Silver

                              Manzanilla Las Medallas: Silver

González Byass: Pedro Ximénez VORS Noé: Gold

                              Fino Tio Pepe: Gold

                              Palo Cortado Leonor: Silver

Bodegas Fundador: Harveys Oloroso VORS: Silver

7.4.17 Copa Jerez Becomes Top International Gastronomic Forum; UK Sherry Festival

Already an outstanding international Sherry and food matching competition, the Copa Jerez has just got better still. The final of the VII Copa Jerez, held in Jerez, will take place alongside a new wine and gastronomy symposium under the banner I Foro Gastronómico Internacional Copa Jerez. The dates are the 12^th and 13^th June, when the city will be full of wine trade professionals and international gastronomic superstars.

Yesterday's presentation at the Consejo Regulador (foto:diariodejerez)

The symposium has an extensive programme of lectures, tastings, workshops and show cooking sessions, all aimed at demonstrating just how versatile Sherry is with food, as proved by how many top chefs and sommeliers choose it to accompany their dishes. Names like Josep Roca, Andoni Aduriz, Ricard Camarena and François Chartier will be there to judge the Copa Jerez and give talks and demonstrations.

According to Carmen Aumesquet, chief of promotion at the Consejo Regulador, the idea of creating a much bigger event stemmed from the interest Sherry has aroused among professionals and to promote these leading figures who put Sherry at the heart of their cuisine and inspire other professionals.

Full details are available on the new web page http://www.sherry.wine/copa-jerez

The UK Great Sherry Festival returns for another round between 5^th and 18^th June during which wine merchants the length and breadth of the UK will be promoting Sherry, and the three most imaginative promotions will win a trip to Jerez, so that is an incentive – as if one were needed. According to Angeline Bayly, the UK campaign director, more and more merchants are getting involved and reporting significant increases in sales. Look out for offers and tastings!

Fino del Maestro Sierra La Bota de Paco

Appearance

Brassy gold with bright golden highlights, a trace darker than La Bota de Ana, legs.

Nose

Full, generous and nuanced with traces of straw and butter, the aromas of the cabezuela and the flor are almost equal in intensity, and there are hints of almond and herbs and perhaps a faint trace of wood, even spice. It is a little more intense than Ana, and it tastes a touch more "hecho" (mature), yet there is not a hint of oxidation.

Palate

Mature and full with perfect balance. There is a little acidity, helped by the flor bitterness, and this balances with the body and mature oily buttery flavours from the bottom of the butt. There is a lovely rounded softness to the casual taste which belies serious the complexity which is there in spades if you look for it. Just a little fuller than Ana and with a trace more flor bitterness.

Comments

Please read this in conjunction to the post on La Bota de Ana as they are closely related - from the same solera. This superb Fino is from bottle number 5 of just 20 filled from one butt in the Fino solera selected by Paco Salas, an oenologist and friend of the bodega. He and the firm's official oenologist Ana Cabestrero must have had so much fun selecting their favourite butts! And what a brilliant idea. It is only a pity that so little could be bottled. This one is from andana 32, butt number 3 which is in a different location in the bodega from La Bota de Ana which is closer to the back door which looks out toward the sea at El Puerto. Being further inside the bodega, this butt is slightly different but equally delicious. It is incredible how small differences in location within the same bodega can make such a difference to the wine. Thank goodness the Sherry oenologists recognise these wonderful and unique features of a wine which does what it likes. Both are simply outstanding Finos and being asked which is your favourite would be like being asked which is your favourite child.

Price

50 euros from Licores Corredera

The bottle...

...and the butt!

Fino del Maestro Sierra La Bota de Ana

Appearance

Fairly deep brassy gold with bright gold glints, legs.

Nose

Full and deep and very serious. Rich, soft, mature with lots of cabezuela notes and some autolysis but zipped up a little by some gently yeasty and bitter flor top notes. This is classic Jerez Fino with hints of wax and  straw, fairly low acid and a certain weight, justifying the term "vino generoso". It smells wonderful, it's just so intense and classy.

Palate 

Big and beautifully rounded, packed with flavour, hints of umami and a gentle texture. Very dry with complex flavours as much from the bottom of the butt as from the top. This is absolutely delicious with terrific length and dangerously easy to drink. One of the best I've ever tasted.

Comments

This very special and highly interesting wine even has a twin, La Bota de Paco (qv). As everyone knows, no two butts in a solera will taste exactly the same, each one has its own micro environment, and that is one of the most fascinating things about Sherry. When running the scales of a solera, one can blend the wine extracted from a given criadera before refreshing the next one, thus achieving more commercial homogeneity. Or you can not do that, and simply refresh from the butt above which will hopefully maintain these subtle differences. Ana Cabestrero, like any good oenologist, knows this and monitors things carefully. So rather than simply blend away wine from particularly good butts in the solera, she and Paco Salas, also an oenologist and friend of the bodega, chose their favourites and bottled a minute quantity of each - 20 bottles - direct from each butt by hand with no filtration at all. The two chosen butts are in different areas of the bodega with very slightly different atmospheres. The labelling is interesting too, with an old Fino label and an extra handwritten one with the details, which are: andana (row) 5, butt 3, bottle 8/20, filled November 2016 and signed. They did leave one detail out; the alcoholic strength, but I don't care.

Price
50 euros from Licores Corredera

The bottle.....

and the butt