Oloroso Alburejo 18.5%, Bodegas Alvaro Domecq

Appearance
Mahogany through amber to green-tinged yellow rim, legs.
Nose
Quite serious Oloroso; clean, tight and generous, caramelised walnuts and toasted hazelnuts, a trace of wood from the butts and a hint of sweetness, quite full yet has a certain elegance, opening out gradually to include a traces of fudge and orange.
Palate
Medium to full, again tight and clean, tangy acidity brings out the flavour; well done toast, nuts, traces of wood and polished furniture, nicely textured and lively with considerable length.
Comments
This wine is named after the family Finca los Alburejos near Medina Sidonia. Here there are many horses, a passion in Jerez, and of course, Alvaro himself was a famous "rejoneador " horseback bullfighter. Some time ago he bought the famous almacenista bodegas of Pilar Aranda, and has been putting the wines on the open market. The range is fairly small but very good, and includes brandy and vinegar.
Price
10.90 Euros in Spain, but I don't know of any UK importers. Sorry.

13.6.13 Vineyard Tourism; GB & Instituto Cervantes; Alvaro Domecq; Bodega Management Changes; BBC in Jerez

Yesterday the local government presented the first phase of its special plan for development of vineyard tourism to the Sherry trade at the Hacienda Vistahermosa of bodegas Luis Perez. The mayoress, Maria Jose Garcia Pelayo told the 200 people  present that the aim is not only to preserve the countryside, but also to create economic and touristic development of the area in the hope of creating wealth and employment.

The idea is to promote the initiative with Sherry as the central theme and create activities which are considered to be in the public interest at, for example vineyard houses, bodegas and associated industries, equestrian centres, school farms, health, religious and educational centres, as well as inns, hotels, restaurants.

This is a suitable legal framework to define all the possible activities, which would eliminate the need for individual projects.  It would also help the infrastructure, strengthening countryside and environmental values. Present at the meeting were representatives of the growers and cooperatives, Fedejerez, the Consejos Reguladores of Sherry and Brandy, the hotel and catering trade, Wine tourism, Equestrianism, and any business with an interest in rural tourism and viticulture.

Jorge A Grosse MacDougall of Gonzalez Byass and Victor Garcia de la Concha of the Instituto Cervantes have signed an agreement of collaboration. The bodega will support the institute in its work to promote Spanish language and culturerge A Grosse MacDougall world-wide in the 102 countries in which GB does business through various initiatives of a cultural, academic or institutional character. Tio Pepe itself is a part of Spanish culture and a languagewith 500 million speakers throughout the world.

Tourism professionals in the province of Cadiz have decided to recognise the great work done by Alvaro Domecq Romero to promote the brand “Jerez” over decades. They have organised an event at the Sherry Park Hotel on the 20^th June at 8 o’clock, in the Salon Guadalete. Alvaro has confirmed he will be there.   

             

Alvaro Domecq with some of his wines

Lola Rueda of the organising committee said that he was and is an entrepreneur, ahead of his time, having realised projects which have brought wealth and employment to the province over many years. “He is admired and respected by tourism professionals as someone who is passionate about Jerez”

Horses and wine were the basis of his brilliant career. For 26 years he was a hugely successful rejoneador, in 1973 he organised an equestrian spectacular which became the Real Academia, later he created A Campo Abierto, a horse and cattle spectacular at his cortijo los alburejos  In 1999 he acquired the old bodegas of Pilar Aranda, and began a career in Sherry, Alvaro Domecq SL.

Poor results have led to surprise management changes at Barbadillo and Caballero. Manuel Valdecantos leaves Barbadillo, being replaced by Victor Velez, and Jon Martinez leaves Caballero, replaced by Luis Luengo. Manuel Valdecantos leaves at a delicate moment, being the main spokesperson for the Sanlucar bodegas against the Fino/Manzanilla changes to the reglamento proposed by Fedejerez.

The BBC has been filming in Jerez and various other places in Andalucia for a documentary on Flamenco. They filmed activities at the academy of Ana Maria Lopez at the oldest Flamenco club in Jerez, Los Cernicalos in the Calle Vicario. No news about when the programme will be screened.

Fino La Janda 15%, Álvaro Domecq

Appearance

Bright, very pale strawy gold, legs.

Nose

Attractive and quite complex, very fresh with plenty of flor, hints of bread dough and a faint background trace of autolysis, there's a hint of something like new wood or dry scrub from the flor presumably, and the faintest note of cinnamon.

Palate

Very rounded and clean, its extra year or two of ageing gives some real depth and character with an appealing yeasty bitterness and a trace of olive brine at the end. Smooth and dangerously drinkable yet very precise and complex.

Comments

A very good Fino, a little over seven years old. The Fino bodega adjoins that of the oxidatively aged wines and, up a few steps, is noticeably cooler and more humid, perfect conditions for flor. The Álvaro Domecq wines are quite simply those of the bodega's previous proprietor, the famous almacenista Pilar Aranda, who had a well-earned reputation for quality. The new owner, who bought the bodega in 1999, has certainly maintained the quality, and the bodega is kept immaculately. The name La Janda is derived from a large area of land of that name in the province of Cádiz in which Don Álvaro's horse and bull ranch lies.

Price

Around 6.50 euros

                                                                     

Manzanilla La Jaca 15%, Alvaro Domecq

Appearance
Very pale gold, bright and clean, very light legs.
Nose
Full, assertive, lots of flor and hints of autolysis, traces beach sand with a trace of the complexity of Manzanilla pasada, very attractive.
Palate
Fresh and tangy, quite lean surprisingly but "punzante", very clean and yeasty with attractive hint of bitterness at the finish, quite a serious wine for a straightforward Manzanilla. Good.
Comments
Not wine from a solera bought from Pilar Aranda, so I don't know whence it comes, but it is certainly high quality. Higher quality than the label would suggest. Alvaro Domecq wines are of superior quality and are worth looking out for.

Price

I bought this in Jerez for 6 or 7 euros, but I'm not sure if it is available in the UK

Bodegas: Pilar Aranda

This famous firm is one of the oldest bodegas in Jerez, and the oldest of the almacenistas. It was established in 1800 by Don Antonio Maria de Aranda y Cardenas, the great grandfather of Pilar Aranda. Don Antonio had four children: Carlos, Felix, Pepa and Fermin. Fermin became a very famous surgeon, and was often invited to speak at medical conferences. At one such in 1924, attended by King Alfonso XIII, he extolled the virtues of Sherry so well that the following day, 1200 of those at the conference visited Jerez! Medical man though he was, he looked after the family bodega and expanded it. He even experimented briefly with growing tobacco. A street was later named after him (the old Calle Medina).

A republican and the owner of vineyards – he came to own four fincas: La Rosa Celeste, La Blanquita, La Huerta de la Marquesa and  La Venta Cantero - and of course the bodegas. He spoke three languages and was known for his charm. He married Dona Pilar Latorre Nieto, and they had four children: Antonio, Fermin, Jose and Pilar, born on the 11th of July 1907.

It was Pilar, widowed young - her husband was killed during the Spanish Civil War - who inherited the bodega containing some 500 butts on her father’s death on the 1^st of May 1946. Along with her sons and the accountancy skills of her cousin Guillermo Ferguson’s stepson, she continued with the winemaking. She was a woman ahead of her time, possessing grace and spontaneity as well as an excellent knowledge of the workings of a bodega, and great skill as a taster. With a great sense of humour and agility of mind, she was well known and respected not only in bodega circles but also in public. 

Pilar had seven bodegas, but three were rented out. The other four contained about 700 butts. She worked a lot with Manuel Maria Gonzalez Gordon of Gonzalez Byass, buying mosto from them and selling them back matured Sherries, in fact 85% of her bodegas output was sold to them for their blends, the rest being sold to Emilio Lustau – such as a lovely Amontillado Fino - to be bottled unblended and sold bearing her name as well as that of Lustau. One treasure in the bodega was an ancient PX, well over 100 years old, which has been aged statically in only four butts, but it is almost impossible to procure any. There is also some outstanding vinegar.

In 1975, at the Harvest Festival, the Consejo Regulador named her “Capataz de Honor” in recognition of her dedication to Sherry. As she grew older, her grandson, Fermin Garcia Villaescusa managed the business. A trained enologist with experience, he is also an artist, and perhaps his greater interest lay there. Dona Pilar passed away in 1997, aged 90, and in 1999 the firm was sold to Alvaro Domecq, a member of that famous bodega family (qv). In 2006 a street in Jerez was renamed in her honour.

It is hard to say whether or not this is a lost bodega, but many changes have certainly been made. The firm now markets the brands based on the existing soleras, but is now part of a big financial group. Lustau is no longer bottling the wines.

Her brands were: 
Fino La Janda
Oloroso Alburejo
Cream Aranda 
These brands have been continued by Alvaro Domecq along with some very old wines which are now  as the 1730 range.