Some good news this time! The Consejo Regulador de Jerez may have found the ideal candidate for the post of President. It's not official, but almost certain that Beltran Domecq Williams Gonzalez will be the strongest - if not the only - candidate. With three such legendary bodega surnames he could only come from Jerez; he was brought up in bodegas, knows the business intimately and has the approval of Fedejerez (the sector organisation representing the bodegas). Further, he is an enologist and chemist, good at public relations and speaks languages. There is a great deal of consensus on his candidacy and he carries much respect.
Since the current acting president Francisco Lorenzo has withdrawn his application, the only possible competition would be if the growers organisation (Asevi-Asaja) decided against at a meeting today and put forward another candidate. They haven't ruled out that possibility and have someone in mind, someone who also knows the industry but who turned down the offer.
Major surprises excepted, there will be one candidate at the full meeting of the Consejo tomorrow, Beltran Domecq, who will be elected for just over two years to complete the current presidency. Fedejerez yesterday sang his praises but noted that even he can't produce miracles, alluding to the difficult times currently being suffered in Jerez. Let us hope that such an erudite and respected man who knows the Sherry trade inside out can make a difference.
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Fino 15% vol, Vinicola Soto
Appearance
Pale bright strawy gold, legs.
Nose
Full, lots of flor - yeasty, traces of sourdough, Marmite, appleskin and camomile.
Palate
Quite full, broad and deep, hints of yeast, fruit - apple or quince perhaps, very dry with low acidity yet has a light tang with a dry finish with a bitter salted almond touch, quite characterful.
Comments
A sound and characterful wine if not over subtle. Perhaps not as good as I remember it pre-Rumasa, but then it's not expensive.
Price
£8,49
From
Raeburn Fine Wines, Edinburgh
Pale bright strawy gold, legs.
Nose
Full, lots of flor - yeasty, traces of sourdough, Marmite, appleskin and camomile.
Palate
Quite full, broad and deep, hints of yeast, fruit - apple or quince perhaps, very dry with low acidity yet has a light tang with a dry finish with a bitter salted almond touch, quite characterful.
Comments
A sound and characterful wine if not over subtle. Perhaps not as good as I remember it pre-Rumasa, but then it's not expensive.
Price
£8,49
From
Raeburn Fine Wines, Edinburgh
Bodegas: Vinicola Soto
In 1771 Don Francisco de Soto came from Santander and set himself up as a winegrower and almacenista in Calle de Calderas in Jerez. At about the same time he bought a vineyard called Santa Isabel (also known as Las Palmas) which is owned by the company to this day. Later, at the beginning of the XIX century, his son Don Jose de Soto bought a new bodega in Calle Benavente. After his death his son Don Francisco took over, and during this period the storage and ageing capacity was enlarged. He was by now doing good business with the most important exporters of the time. Towards 1888 the bodega started exporting in its own right.
After Phylloxera, Santa Isabel was replanted and important rootstocks were introduced. The Ministry of Agriculture awarded it the only Diploma of Honour ever awarded to a vineyard. In 1920 Don Jose de Soto y Abad, a great proponent of planting vineyards in Jerez, expanded the business enormously by moving it out of town to the Finca Cerro Viejo surrounded by vineyard. He was president of the Jerez Chamber of Commerce for over 20 years, an alumnus of the University of Fine Arts in Cadiz and an Honoured Son of Jerez in 1950. In 1945 the firm became a limited company which increased considerably its working capital. In 1989 the firm was bought by Jose Maria Ruiz Mateos and absorbed into his Nueva Rumasa empire which included Garvey, Valdivia and CAYDSA (Teresa Rivero), and the furure at the moment looks a little uncertain.
Range:
Fino Soto; Manzanilla La Lidia (which used to be a Gravey brand and now comes in a tall wine bottle)
Amontillado Seco Soto, Oloroso Espuela; PX Soto, Cream Soto and table wine Virgen Blanca
They also produce brandy, vinegar and the famous Ponche Soto.
Visits:
Not sure but you could try making contact
Contact:
Vinicola Soto
Finca Cerro Viejo
Canada de la Loba S/N
11404 Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz
Tel: (+34) 956 319 650
Web: www.vinicolasoto.com
After Phylloxera, Santa Isabel was replanted and important rootstocks were introduced. The Ministry of Agriculture awarded it the only Diploma of Honour ever awarded to a vineyard. In 1920 Don Jose de Soto y Abad, a great proponent of planting vineyards in Jerez, expanded the business enormously by moving it out of town to the Finca Cerro Viejo surrounded by vineyard. He was president of the Jerez Chamber of Commerce for over 20 years, an alumnus of the University of Fine Arts in Cadiz and an Honoured Son of Jerez in 1950. In 1945 the firm became a limited company which increased considerably its working capital. In 1989 the firm was bought by Jose Maria Ruiz Mateos and absorbed into his Nueva Rumasa empire which included Garvey, Valdivia and CAYDSA (Teresa Rivero), and the furure at the moment looks a little uncertain.
Range:
Fino Soto; Manzanilla La Lidia (which used to be a Gravey brand and now comes in a tall wine bottle)
Amontillado Seco Soto, Oloroso Espuela; PX Soto, Cream Soto and table wine Virgen Blanca
They also produce brandy, vinegar and the famous Ponche Soto.
Visits:
Not sure but you could try making contact
Contact:
Vinicola Soto
Finca Cerro Viejo
Canada de la Loba S/N
11404 Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz
Tel: (+34) 956 319 650
Web: www.vinicolasoto.com
News from Jerez 25.6.12
A very small harvest is expected this year, possibly the smallest ever. This has led the independent grape growers to ask 33 centimos per kilo, 10% more than last year, and double that of two years ago. The shortage is due to two factors: the reduction of vineyards in production to equalise supply and demand, and the drought suffered this year with 40% less rain than usual. Some bodegas are worried about getting enough raw material to replace stocks.
The growers, who control little more than 20% of the vineyards (some 1,500 hectares of the now reduced total of around 6,400 registered with the Consejo Regulador) now find themselves in a powerful position against the bodegas who may have to compete on price to secure grapes.
After a decade of poor prices which hit a low of 15 centimos per kilo in 2010 - the lowest in Europe - some growers found it cheaper not to bother picking the grapes at all. This year they will have a respite and might even make some money.
The highest grape price was in 2002, the result of a strategic plan put forward by the Junta de Andalucia when a price of 30 centimos was agreed. This backfired though, when the National Competence Commission ruled that this represented a cartel, and the Sherry organisations were fined 500,000 euros. Fedejerez, the bodegas' organisation then let individual bodegas negotiate their own prices.
The growers, who control little more than 20% of the vineyards (some 1,500 hectares of the now reduced total of around 6,400 registered with the Consejo Regulador) now find themselves in a powerful position against the bodegas who may have to compete on price to secure grapes.
After a decade of poor prices which hit a low of 15 centimos per kilo in 2010 - the lowest in Europe - some growers found it cheaper not to bother picking the grapes at all. This year they will have a respite and might even make some money.
The highest grape price was in 2002, the result of a strategic plan put forward by the Junta de Andalucia when a price of 30 centimos was agreed. This backfired though, when the National Competence Commission ruled that this represented a cartel, and the Sherry organisations were fined 500,000 euros. Fedejerez, the bodegas' organisation then let individual bodegas negotiate their own prices.
Sunday, 24 June 2012
Fake Sherry
When a wine has been so famous for so long as Sherry has, imitations inevitably appear, and while that might be construed as flattery, some of the imitations were much less than flattering. The New World in particular produced all sorts of "copies" of famous wines such as Californian "Chablis", Australian "Port" often with little resemblance to the original but certainly drinkable wines. After all, the famous names were used more as a description of the style rather than direct impersonation. Sherry probably suffered the most humiliation at the hands of the fakers however.
While Sherry has been faked for centuries, it was really between the 1960's and the end of the 1980's that faking was at its height. At that time Sherry had a huge, mainly sweet market in Britain, led by the redoubtable Harveys' Bristol Cream, but it had an alcoholic strength of over 15% vol. as it was fortified more heavily than now (usually @17.5 - 18% vol). Until the 1970's it was still shipped in butt, and the extra alcohol protected the wine on its journey but this meant it was subject to a higher rate of excise duty, and that is where the impersonators came in.
From Spain itself similar wines were imported from Montilla-Moriles, a quality wine area in Cordoba but with cheaper wines, and passed off as Sherry. They still are in a way as people only see the words Cream or Fino and assume it is Sherry, even though it does say on the label that it is from Montilla-Moriles. The word Montilla resembles Amontillado. At least Montilla (as it is known) is good natural wine - often excellent, and not a fake as such. During the sales boom of the 1970's even Sherry itself suffered a reduction in quality due to overproduction. This only affected commercial blends though, not "proper" Sherries.
There were various lower quality perpetrators of fakes: Britain, Cyprus, South Africa and Australia mainly. Australia South Africa and Cyprus managed to get hold of flor yeast, and the locally made "Sherries" were at least passable if not occasionally quite decent - but not very similar to the real thing. They had the advantage that they were made just under 15% vol and (except Cyprus) had a preferential Commonwealth duty rate. Cyprus had the biggest market of the three in Britain being a lot closer. It consisted of either concentrated must or ready made wines which reached about 15 million litres at its peak, second only to Harveys' Bristol Cream.
Winemaking in Cyprus was poor, however, and dominated by big commercial enterprises. Even in flor wines, ageing was for only 2 years, and the sweet wines were aged outside in the sun to oxidise quicker and often had concentrated must added. Remember Emva Cream? But the worst abominations were "British". These "wines" were either made from poor quality concentrated grape must or raisins imported from Cyprus (or wherever), then reconstituted here, fortified and adjusted, or imported already made. They were neither British nor Sherry - nor even good. But worse, they are still with us. They haunt the bottom shelves in supermarkets, names like QC Cream among others, often supermarket own brands.
After years of protest by the Consejo Regulador in Jerez, the European Union finally ruled on Sherry in 1996 stating that only wine with the Denominacion de Origen Jerez could use the word "Sherry". Hooray! you must be thinking, but it wasn't a total victory. The ruling gave producers of imitations time to change their labelling and sell through old stock, and in that time they promoted their brands and implanted the brand name rather than that of Sherry in consumers' minds, so when the new labels arrived on the shelves they resembled the old ones, and still, annoyingly, were allowed to use Sherry terms such as Fino and Cream. So all that really happened was the loss of the word Sherry from the labels which few even noticed. Still, over time sales of these products have waned, and tastes have changed a bit as well, thank goodness.
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Surely the Consejo could finish off these ghastly products, by hassling the EU to forbid the use of Sherry terms on "wines" which are not Sherry, and at the same time spend some money on a really good campaign to promote Proper Sherry, specifically aimed at younger people. They have more open minds, are willing to experiment, and are the potential next generation of Sherry drinkers. Anyway, for the avoidance of doubt, proper Sherry is the only wine permitted to have the above logo on the back label.
While Sherry has been faked for centuries, it was really between the 1960's and the end of the 1980's that faking was at its height. At that time Sherry had a huge, mainly sweet market in Britain, led by the redoubtable Harveys' Bristol Cream, but it had an alcoholic strength of over 15% vol. as it was fortified more heavily than now (usually @17.5 - 18% vol). Until the 1970's it was still shipped in butt, and the extra alcohol protected the wine on its journey but this meant it was subject to a higher rate of excise duty, and that is where the impersonators came in.
From Spain itself similar wines were imported from Montilla-Moriles, a quality wine area in Cordoba but with cheaper wines, and passed off as Sherry. They still are in a way as people only see the words Cream or Fino and assume it is Sherry, even though it does say on the label that it is from Montilla-Moriles. The word Montilla resembles Amontillado. At least Montilla (as it is known) is good natural wine - often excellent, and not a fake as such. During the sales boom of the 1970's even Sherry itself suffered a reduction in quality due to overproduction. This only affected commercial blends though, not "proper" Sherries.
There were various lower quality perpetrators of fakes: Britain, Cyprus, South Africa and Australia mainly. Australia South Africa and Cyprus managed to get hold of flor yeast, and the locally made "Sherries" were at least passable if not occasionally quite decent - but not very similar to the real thing. They had the advantage that they were made just under 15% vol and (except Cyprus) had a preferential Commonwealth duty rate. Cyprus had the biggest market of the three in Britain being a lot closer. It consisted of either concentrated must or ready made wines which reached about 15 million litres at its peak, second only to Harveys' Bristol Cream.
Winemaking in Cyprus was poor, however, and dominated by big commercial enterprises. Even in flor wines, ageing was for only 2 years, and the sweet wines were aged outside in the sun to oxidise quicker and often had concentrated must added. Remember Emva Cream? But the worst abominations were "British". These "wines" were either made from poor quality concentrated grape must or raisins imported from Cyprus (or wherever), then reconstituted here, fortified and adjusted, or imported already made. They were neither British nor Sherry - nor even good. But worse, they are still with us. They haunt the bottom shelves in supermarkets, names like QC Cream among others, often supermarket own brands.
After years of protest by the Consejo Regulador in Jerez, the European Union finally ruled on Sherry in 1996 stating that only wine with the Denominacion de Origen Jerez could use the word "Sherry". Hooray! you must be thinking, but it wasn't a total victory. The ruling gave producers of imitations time to change their labelling and sell through old stock, and in that time they promoted their brands and implanted the brand name rather than that of Sherry in consumers' minds, so when the new labels arrived on the shelves they resembled the old ones, and still, annoyingly, were allowed to use Sherry terms such as Fino and Cream. So all that really happened was the loss of the word Sherry from the labels which few even noticed. Still, over time sales of these products have waned, and tastes have changed a bit as well, thank goodness.
The notion of "Terroir" and "Noble Wines"
This is very interesting from a viticultural point of view and concerns wines and vineyards from all over the world. Recently the Academie Internationale du Vin (AIV), an august and learned body which counts as members leading winemakers, wine journalists and critics, wine scientists and Masters of Wine, held a symposium in front of invited members of the press on this very subject.
In case you didn't already know, Terroir is a French word (Terruno in Spanish) which enshrines the principle of place in a wine or the environment in which it was made and which gives it its unique character. Different place different wine. Soils can vary in even a small area, so plants will too, so will the wildlife and wild yeasts. Microclimates vary too as does the topography. It is amazing how different two wines made in neighbouring vineyards can be, even when made with the same grapes and methods. The reason is terroir.
So what is a Noble Wine? Well, according to the AIV it is "A natural wine, traditional in concept, from high-quality vineyards which give it an extra dimension of elegance, complexity and personality and perhaps more importantly, capacity to improve over time". France has its Grand Cru and Premier Cru system, Germany its Einzellagen, but does Spain have such terroirs, they asked. Victor de la Serna, a famous Spanish wine journalist, critic, vineyard owner and member of the AIV gave his view. (I have edited out quite a lot which was about other Spanish wine regions, but this is what he said about Sherry - abridged a bit):
Spain has always sold wines either by a brand name or the name of the production region along with the production method (eg Rioja Reserva or Manzanilla La Gitana). Individual terrunos have long been identified, but their produce has traditionally gone into the melting pot with bought-in grapes and so their individual characteristics have been lost. Plenty of good wine, but less personality.
There have always been great terroirs in Spain, which happens to have the greatest amount of calcareous soils, in the world, ideal for wine. There is also a great range of altitudes which often compensate for the southerly latitudes, and, despite much grubbing-up of vines in the 1970s, still some old vines. Another proof of these soils' quality must be the fantastic longevity of Rioja wines. All that needs to be done is to better get to know these terroirs and make more terroir-specific wines instead of blending away their character. The human component is as important as soil and climate in making a Grand Cru.
In the case of Jerez, the great vineyard terroirs have been identified for thousands of years: there is good reason to believe that the great Macharnudo vineyard was already planted 3,000 years ago. A bit before the French Grands Crus!! Roman writer Columela knew all about the quality of the local albariza soil. Different areas of albariza in the Jerez area benefit from the sun's heat, cooling sea breezes, more freshness from altitude, or humid salty breezes depending on proximity to the sea, altitude or exposure. For example the humid salty breezes help the flor, the wines ageing in solera and the finished Manzanilla to develop its unique character in Sanlucar.
Over the last 40 years or so, terroir has largely been forgotten for two reasons: Firstly the long crisis in Sherry sales has seen bodegas close and brought the uprooting of vines to equalise supply and demand, and secondly mechanisation and modernisation, while reducing the price of Sherry, has introduced fermentation in stainless steel and selected yeast. If the region is to be reborn, albeit smaller but with its traditional qualities recuperated, it will be because more bodegas revert to the old ways, only defended still by Valdespino: single vineyard wines, fermentation in butts and natural wild yeast.
How right he is. Sherry, of course has always been a Noble Wine!
Let's drink a toast to Sherry with a glass of Valdespino!!
In case you didn't already know, Terroir is a French word (Terruno in Spanish) which enshrines the principle of place in a wine or the environment in which it was made and which gives it its unique character. Different place different wine. Soils can vary in even a small area, so plants will too, so will the wildlife and wild yeasts. Microclimates vary too as does the topography. It is amazing how different two wines made in neighbouring vineyards can be, even when made with the same grapes and methods. The reason is terroir.
So what is a Noble Wine? Well, according to the AIV it is "A natural wine, traditional in concept, from high-quality vineyards which give it an extra dimension of elegance, complexity and personality and perhaps more importantly, capacity to improve over time". France has its Grand Cru and Premier Cru system, Germany its Einzellagen, but does Spain have such terroirs, they asked. Victor de la Serna, a famous Spanish wine journalist, critic, vineyard owner and member of the AIV gave his view. (I have edited out quite a lot which was about other Spanish wine regions, but this is what he said about Sherry - abridged a bit):
Spain has always sold wines either by a brand name or the name of the production region along with the production method (eg Rioja Reserva or Manzanilla La Gitana). Individual terrunos have long been identified, but their produce has traditionally gone into the melting pot with bought-in grapes and so their individual characteristics have been lost. Plenty of good wine, but less personality.
There have always been great terroirs in Spain, which happens to have the greatest amount of calcareous soils, in the world, ideal for wine. There is also a great range of altitudes which often compensate for the southerly latitudes, and, despite much grubbing-up of vines in the 1970s, still some old vines. Another proof of these soils' quality must be the fantastic longevity of Rioja wines. All that needs to be done is to better get to know these terroirs and make more terroir-specific wines instead of blending away their character. The human component is as important as soil and climate in making a Grand Cru.
In the case of Jerez, the great vineyard terroirs have been identified for thousands of years: there is good reason to believe that the great Macharnudo vineyard was already planted 3,000 years ago. A bit before the French Grands Crus!! Roman writer Columela knew all about the quality of the local albariza soil. Different areas of albariza in the Jerez area benefit from the sun's heat, cooling sea breezes, more freshness from altitude, or humid salty breezes depending on proximity to the sea, altitude or exposure. For example the humid salty breezes help the flor, the wines ageing in solera and the finished Manzanilla to develop its unique character in Sanlucar.
Over the last 40 years or so, terroir has largely been forgotten for two reasons: Firstly the long crisis in Sherry sales has seen bodegas close and brought the uprooting of vines to equalise supply and demand, and secondly mechanisation and modernisation, while reducing the price of Sherry, has introduced fermentation in stainless steel and selected yeast. If the region is to be reborn, albeit smaller but with its traditional qualities recuperated, it will be because more bodegas revert to the old ways, only defended still by Valdespino: single vineyard wines, fermentation in butts and natural wild yeast.
How right he is. Sherry, of course has always been a Noble Wine!
Let's drink a toast to Sherry with a glass of Valdespino!!
News from Jerez 23.6.12
Department of Employment approval appears to be imminent for the agreement between the workforce and the administrators of Bodegas Valdivia to terminate 10 out of 12 employment contracts. According to sources who know, this is a likely prelude to liquidation, a fate also faced by Garvey's 2 main bodegas: Complejo Bodeguero Bellavista and Zoilo Ruiz Mateos, bought from Nueva Rumasa by Back in Business. The workforce have reluctantly agreed mainly because they have faith that Valdivia will be bought by another firm. Three are said to be interested, including an american multinational who would retain the workers.
Moving on. According to the latest report from Rutas del Vino de Espana (Spanish touristic wine routes) which covers 2011, the Jerez area is the most visited with a total of 480,767 visitors. The Rutas del Vino comprise 21 routes and 546 bodegas, and are to be thoroughly recommended.
Moving on. According to the latest report from Rutas del Vino de Espana (Spanish touristic wine routes) which covers 2011, the Jerez area is the most visited with a total of 480,767 visitors. The Rutas del Vino comprise 21 routes and 546 bodegas, and are to be thoroughly recommended.
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