Manzanilla Arboledilla Poniente saca 2019 15%, Barbadillo

Appearance

Bright clean gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Fresh and fairly saline, just a shade fuller than the Levante with a trace of straw amongst the herbs, which include a note of camomile, bread dough, olive brine and  faint trace of glace lemon and a very slightly more mature note. Again the flor is not overly bitter, and there is less of a apple note. For some reason the Poniente seems to open out a little less in the glass but it is not short of aroma.

Palate

Very slightly fuller than the Levante with perhaps a faintly more mineral note and the acidity seems slightly lower while the herbaceousness and bread dough remain roughly constant. It feels slightly tighter, more disciplined perhaps than the Levante and has just a shade more flor bitterness.

Comments

These two Manzanillas, the Poniente and Levante are drawn from the same Solear solera at between 4 and 5 years old (Solear is 6) and the only difference between them is that they were stored at other sides of the Arboledilla bodega. It is interesting how there are very subtle yet noticeable differences caused by the environment in which the wines matured. The Levante (east) side of the bodega has smaller windows and is shaded by trees making it a little cooler than the Poniente (west) side. The two wines are sold together so one can make comparisons

Price
12.50 euros

Manzanilla Arboledilla Levante saca 2019 15%, Barbadillo

Appearance

Bright yellowy gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Delightfully fresh with some herbal notes, traces of apple and quince and quite saline; it really smells of the sea. The yeasty bitterness of the flor is not particularly pronounced, though by no means absent, and is more like sourdough with traces of olive brine and even a faint trace of lemon and a fainter still trace of cinnamon giving the wine a distinct character and charm.

Palate

Clean, quite zippy, almost crisp and good and dry with that characteristic chalky texture while the salinity, olive, bread dough and herbs are  still there. It is light, clean, fresh and zestful, and perhaps slightly more graceful than the Poniente, but equally good and it develops slightly more in the glass.

Comments

Bottled en rama in February 2019 with only 600 bottles available. It is a selection from butts on the the Levante (eastern) side of the huge and beautiful Arboledilla bodega which houses the enormous Solear solera. Despite being located barely a couple of hundred metres apart, wines from each side of the bodega show subtle but noticeable and interesting differences in their character after 4-5 years of ageing. For that reason the wines are sold in pairs of one of each and they really challenge one´s tasting skills. There is one annual saca but the timing of this varies.

Price

12.50 euros

Manzanilla Pasada Solear en rama 15% Invierno 2017, Barbadillo (Retaste)

Appearance

Bright amber tinged gold, a fraction deeper than a year ago, golden highlights.

Nose

Forthcoming and complex with just the very faintest hint of oxidation which blends in perfectly with the autolytic notes from the cabezuela and there is a little less bitter almondy flor bite but plenty of yeastiness. The wine is full and rich and further integrated, smooth and harmonious and more complex still.

Palate

Again super smooth with even a fleeting trace of an almost honeyed sweetness but that soon passes as the acidity asserts itself - gently, but enough to carry through all that flavour and provide impeccable balance. There are notes of bread dough, almond, olive brine and esparto but they are harder to distinguish now than they were a year ago, though they are still there, all playing a role in the wine´s impressive complexity and length.

Comments

There are pretty obvious differences between this bottle and the one tasted a year ago. It is now much rounder and smoother with less acidic bite and bitter flor but more depth and complexity revealing how well it ages. In fact it is in perfect health and will go on for years a few more years yet. The wine now has about 8 years in solera and around 14 months in bottle.

Price

14.30 per half bottle, Licores Corredera

Tinto Roble No Ni Ná NV 13.5%, Barbadillo

Appearance
Deep blacky red with a reasonably tight young cherry red rim.
Nose
Forest fruits: lots of berries like blueberry, bramble and raspberry with faint lactic and balsamic notes and a trace of Parma violet. There is a youthful jammy character with background traces of toast and spice from the oak giving it a touch of balancing seriousness.
Palate
Big and very fruity on entry, with all those fresh forest berries. Acidity is on the low side but it balances well and there is a faint ripe tannin undertow. It is on the commercial side but is rewarding easy everyday drinking and has lots of charm and general versatility.
Comments
The Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona is selling a new red Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz exclusively in all its branches in the province. It comes from Barbadillo’s Gibalbín vineyards and  is a blend of Tintilla, Merlot, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah with two months ageing in a mix of American and French oak barrels. No vintage date is given, but according to the lot number on the back label it was bottled on November 23 2017, so one assumes it is from the 2016 vintage. Mercadona runs no fewer than 1,624 supermarkets throughout the country and has been highly successful thanks to its efficiency, partnership with suppliers and its willingness to react to feedback from customers whom it regards as its “bosses”. The majority of their wines are pretty pedestrian, but this - especially for the money - is better. The expression “no ni ná” is used in Cádiz to mean “yes of course”, the triple negative meaning affirmative. The province virtually has its own language.
Price
2.50 euros

Cobijado 2014 15%, Barbadillo/Carvajal

Appearance

Very deep black cherry red with a fairly tight ruby rim.

Nose

Big and full bodied with noticeable alcohol and a slightly Port-like character. The grapes must have been super ripe and there are aromas of bramble, black cherry and plum as well as a gentle violet note along with faint background spice from the oak and even a trace of eucalyptus. Quite something.

Palate

Very full and well structured with plenty of ripe tannin, pure, clean fresh bramble and blackcurrant and a decent acidity with a subtle gently spicy background, but this is a powerful heady wine which could still do with a few more years in bottle. Very good though.
Comments

Cobijado is the excellent result of a joint project between Barbadillo and winemaker Jaime Carvajal, who worked at Finca Moncloa and Huerta de Albalá before working with Barbadillo. He was given a free rein to select the best barrels of wine at the firm's bodega at Gibalbín and made a blend from 12 French oak barrels (Taransaud) and 13 American oak barrels (Murua), two of the best cooperages. He worked closely with Barbadillo oenologist Montse Molina, and the final blend, which is a Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz, is based on Tempranillo and Merlot with smaller quantities of Syrah, Tintilla and Cabernet Sauvignon. Naturally the blend varies a little according to the vintage. It was aged in oak for 11 months followed by 8 in bottle. The wine's name refers to a kind of burka which used to be worn by the women of Vejer de la Frontera, where Jaime's mother came from. It is a big serious wine which would benefit from more time in bottle, but can be enjoyed now. Approximately 12,000 numbered bottles were produced.

Price
15.60, La Tienda del Jerez

Zerej

Zerej is a masterstroke, a sort of luxury Sherry tasting pack consisting of four different magnums of seriously interesting and top quality wine from Sanlúcar in limited quantities. Armando Guerra had the idea and was helped by Ramiro Ibáñez, and the theme of the first release, Zerej I, back in spring 2015 was to show the effects of flor. It contained a 2014 barrel fermented Mosto with no flor and an eighteen month old Manzanilla from Viña Callejuela; an eleven year old Manzanilla Pasada from Juan Piñero; and an eighteen year old Amontillado from Delgado Zuleta. Only 120 packs of four magnums were available. Naturally Sherry enthusiasts were delighted and shared their magnums with friends and family, so the pack inevitably sold out very quickly. 

Later, Armando was put in charge of top end wines at Bodegas Barbadillo and, among other projects, he and the firm’s oenologist Montse Molina set about creating Zerej II. This time the wines in the pack all come from Barbadillo and the theme is the effects of oxidation. They are a 2014 barrel fermented white, a nine year old Manzanilla Amontillada (labelled Amontillado), a twenty-five year old Palo Cortado and a twelve year old Oloroso. There are 240 packs containing one magnum of each, bottled in March 2017, and an explanatory booklet.

Manzanilla Pasada Solear en rama Otoño 2017 15%, Barbadillo

Appearance

Pure gold with golden glints.

Nose

A very attractive mix of salty brine and flor with pronounced notes of straw, slightly toasted bitter almond, dry scrub, humidity and the faintest traces of apple signalling oxidation. It is clean, quite tight and classic, and a little less exuberant than the summer release.

Palate

As always exceptionally well balanced and with real pasada flavours; a clean crisp bitterness, olive brine, sour dough, hints of oxidation, rancio, butter, traces of nuts. The flavour is quite intense and leaves a lovely briny bitterness on the palate for quite some time.

Comments

Another excellent release, and this time, for a change, the label features the Iberian Lynx and not a bird. The lynx is on the endangered list and its population numbers in the hundreds, mainly in Andalucía. The wine was made following the established routine. It comes from a 550 butt intermediate solera with two clases in the middle of the El Potro bodega. The saca comes from 15 selected butts in the older clase with wine which is 8 years old, and only 1,500 litres are withdrawn, 100 litres per butt. The younger clase is topped up with the normal Solear which is 6 years old. The oldest wine feeds the Amontillado Príncipe solera. The wine was bottled on the 3rd October, and sold out at the bodega in a couple of weeks.

Price
14.30 per half bottle, Licores Corredera

29.5.16 Vinoble: New Wines from Harveys, Barbadillo; Corpus Christi

It is inside the Alcazar as well, everywhere

Jerez was alive today with visitors to the unique biennial wine fair Vinoble which covers sweet and fortified wines of the world. Needless to say there was a strong Sherry presence and a huge range of wines available for tasting. There were wine producers everywhere! Launched today was a new range of Sherries from Harveys (literally bottled yesterday!) and a couple of really interesting and delicious table wines from Barbadillo.

The Harvey wines were:

Fino: Fresh light and clean, about 5 years old, green label

Amontillado: Amber, dry, light and fresh, about 12 years old, orange label

Palo Cortado: Amber, very nutty and fairly light, about 15 years old, red label

Oloroso: Gold to mahogany fairly crisp, very Oloroso, aged about 12 years, maroon label

Pedro Ximénez: Deep blacky brown, lots of toffee, trace oak, aged 10 years, long, grey label

This is a really good range, I’ll post pictures as soon as I get the promised press release….

The Barbadillo wines were:

Mirabrás 2014: 40 year old Palomino vines from the Cerro de Leyes vineyard fermented in ex Manzanilla butts after a few days’ sunning and aged under flor in butt and tank. Delicious crisp apple and unripe apricot aromas, and might age interestingly.

Tintilla Nude 2015: “Insultingly young red” Tintilla grapes from the Gibalbín vineyard fermented using carbonic maceration. There is no front label, hence “nude”.

Again, these are just released so no pictures yet…

Jerez was also alive with people celebrating Corpus Christi, following the procession of the municipal band and members of the religious brotherhoods carrying altars through the streets in clouds of incense. This year the procession was shortened, but still covered 18 streets. Between the Plaza Arenal and the Plaza de la Yerba huge brotherhood insignias were laid out on the ground in coloured salt. Quite a spectacle, unless you wanted to cross the street.

Sparkling Sherry!?!

Our favourite wine comes in all sorts of styles, so why not sparkling? Well for one thing, as a fortified wine it is strong enough already, but if it was sparkling as well, it would knock you for six. Sparkling wine has been – and still is - produced in the Sherry zone, but is not technically Sherry, as this style of wine does not fall into the remit of the Consejo Regulador. It is, however, produced entirely in the Sherry zone, and much of it from Sherry grapes. And there may well be more to come.

The first sparkling wine produced here was “Gran Champagne Continental“made by the now lost, but very reputable bodega Hijos de Jimenez Varela in El Puerto de Santa Maria. Their idea was to come up with a new product in the face of falling Sherry sales due to various scandals in the 1880s. In a period of massive growth, some speculative bodegas were bringing the industry into disrepute in their biggest market, Britain, by fortifying poor wine with potato spirit. There were also still the rumblings from certain British doctors complaining of the “plastering” of the must (adding gypsum to the wine to help it fall bright after fermentation), which was proved to be perfectly safe. “Champagne” was not the only alternative product;  there were various “tonic” wines (Quina) and spirits such as liqueurs Anis and Cacao, as well as Rum, Gin etc., and of course plentiful brandy.

Jimenez Varela produced their “Champagne” from Palomino grapes from their own vineyards in the Pago Balbaina and produced the wine by the traditional “Champagne” method, that is by conducting the secondary fermentation in bottle. They made the wine in purpose-built cellars at their Finca Caracol by hand, the only way available then. The wine sold very well for a few years, but was eventually dropped as sales waned. This was, of course, long before the word “Champagne” was protected by French and later European law, and anyone could get away with calling their sparkling wine “Champagne”. After all many were imitating Sherry too.

(foto: elcellerdelaspic)

Domecq was another who did. They launched a sparkling wine in 1904 made with mostly Palomino but with some Moscatel to sweeten it, as was the fashion in those days. It sold well, despite losing the word "Champagne" and was produced until the 1960s. The poster above is from 1933. At the height of their productivity, Cayetano del Pino also made sparkling wine, thogh how sparkling Sherry could ever be "Champagne Style" escapes me.

Don Quijote was always accompanied by Sancho Panza but were these Cayetano del Pino wines different?

Some excellent sparkling wine is being produced by Alba Viticultores in Sanlúcar using organic Palomino grapes and the simple old fashioned “ancestral” method of bottling the wine half way through fermentation, a method they call Método Sanluqueño. They also make rosé using Palomino and a little Tintilla. These wines have no addition of anything and are very natural.

Bodegas Antonio Barbadillo in Sanlucar also produce sparkling wine. After a few years of experimentation, they launched Beta Brut at Christmas time in 2009. It is composed of locally grown Chardonnay (30%) as well as Palomino (70%), and is also made by the classic bottle fermentation process, being aged on lees for 9 months. Barbadillo’s research was conducted in conjunction with the Andalucian Technical Corporation (CTA) and the Ministry of Science and Technology to develop new types of wine and other avenues of income than the traditional Sherry. The wine currently sells well as an Andaluz product versus the almighty Catalan Cava.

There is another bodega in Jerez producing sparkling wine, and it is Bodegas Tejero Moreno.  They have produced, as well as Sherry, a “Vino de Aguja” (a semi-sparkling wine) from their own vineyards near Jerez since 2004. The wine is called Jose Tejero Moreno and is sold under the denomination Vino de la Tierra de Cadiz. The grapes are picked at dawn to keep their temperature low, pressed, and the must fermented at 18C in stainless tanks before being carbonated gently to give a very fine crisp fizz. The result is an inexpensive but very refreshing wine.

One of the Tejero Moreno brothers at the bottling line

It is also worth mentioning the Jerez component in a Cava produced in Cataluña. Equipo Navazos have been working to produce top quality sparkling wine in Jerez with Sergi Colet, a top level producer in Cataluña. Much experimentation is going on in Jerez, but what they have released so far is Cava, mainly from Xarel.lo grapes but with the addition of a little Jerez flor and/or some lees from Jerez biological ageing in the licor de expedicion (a mix of wine, yeast and sugar to set off the secondary fermentation in bottle). Results have been good, and the Cava has a pleasing, very dry southern flavour, and has been released in very small quantities onto the market.

Over the last twenty years or more, many bodegas, seeing the slow but inexorable decline of Sherry sales have made moves to get involved with other, more profitable wines or spirits. Gonzalez Byass, for example, makes Rioja (Beronia), Cava (Vilarnau), table wines in Castilla (Finca la Constancia), Somontano (Viñas del Vero), and Andalucia (Finca Moncloa). They are among many others such as Osborne and Barbadillo. Sparkling wine as a regular product seems a while away, but is a definite possibility. Watch this space....

17.10.13 V Copa Jerez Has a Winner!

The V Copa Jerez has been won by the Danish Restaurant Clou. After 6 hours of tasting and munching, the judges decided that their Chef and sommelier showed exceptional mastery of the art of matching food and Sherry.

 

Two savoury dishes and a dessert with matching Sherries were served by the seven participating countries, and the winning menu was:

Scallops with salted rye bread crusts served with Fino Valdivia, stewed octopus in duck fat and roasted in almond oil with Amontillado Barbadillo, and for dessert, milk ice cream with coffee and hazelnut praline accompanied by PX VOS Tradicion.

The judges were Josep Roca (Restaurante Can Roca),  Doug Frost (one of only 3 people to achieve Master Sommelier and Master of Wine), Critic and journalist Jose Carlos Capel, Angel Leon (Restaurante Aponiente), Master Sommelier Ronan Sayburn and Juli Soler (El Bulli).

9.9.13 Parker Points for Barbadillo

Bodegas Barbadillo in Sanlucar has also received impressive scores from Luis Gutierrez, Robert Parker's man in Spain. This is the first year that Sherry has achieved the perfect score (also Valdespino's Moscatel Toneles). Few Spanish wines have achieved this so far, and they were all red. At last we have a wine journalist who understands Sherry! That is not to belittle Jose Penin, who has always realised the quality of Sherry and awarded points accordingly.

Reliquia Palo Cortado: 100

Reliquia Amontillado: 98

Palo Cortado VORS: 97

Reliquia Oloroso: 95

Amontillado VORS: 94

Oloroso Seco VORS: 94

Reliquia PX: 93

Oloroso Dulce VORS: 93

Manzanilla Solear en Rama Saca de Primavera: 93

Manzanilla Solear en Rama Saca de Invierno: 92

Amontillado Principe: 91

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.

24.5.13 Barbadillo and World Sherry Day; Fedejerez Proposes End to Bulk Wine

Bodegas Barbadillo of Sanlucar have announced their activities for World Sherry Day starting on Sunday, the Day itself. Along with the doors open visits from 10.00 till 15.00, they have organised a full programme of tastings which start at 11.00 till 13.00.

Juanjo Mesa of the enology department will lead the first part of the tasting programme with a vertical of Manzanillas. The second part will be a tasting of Manzanillas and Jerez wines led by another bodega expert, Rocio Rodriguez of the PR department.

Fedejerez proposes an end to all bulk wine, hoping all Sherry will leave the bodegas in bottle.  The association, which represents 90% of the bodegas believes that the moment has come to take a leap in quality and opt for the bodegas’ own leading brands, the high quality wines which are not only more profitable, but give Jerez its prestige. They feel it is time to get away from low grade wines as well as garrafas and bag-in-box BIB) formats, and to disqualify them from the DO.

In Sanlucar, however, many small bodegas would prefer to disqualify their Manzanilla in order to continue to sell it to the bar/catering trade in BIB, a very popular business. But Fedejerez is adamant that only the glass bottle will assure a profitable future for Sherry, and hopes that this will be included in the new Sherry Reglamento. This is a rather thorny issue.

According to the president of Fedejerez, Evaristo Babe, the future is in bottles, which offer all the guarantees of quality, hygiene and control. He sees no other problems  in supply to the pouring trade, particularly tabancos, with re-fillable bottles. He feels it is time to turn the page on the times in which anything goes and in which there has been excess production and rock-bottom prices. It is entirely logical that the bodegas should seek to improve things – to survive. Now that balance has been restored to the region, it is felt that alternative packaging, such as BIB detracts from the value of the product.

Many bodegas already take the matter as already settled, as it was debated at a plenary at the Consejo over a year ago, when the proposal to authorise the BIB was rejected by a majority. The majority are in favour of the bottle and the “maximum level of excellence” inherent in it. While they are aware that things can’t be fixed overnight, they are also well aware of the mistakes of the past.

Babe says that Sherry got involved in a spiral of reducing costs such that everything was to do with price, but the situation now is different. BIB barely covers the cost of the grapes, which has almost doubled in the last year, and he says that it is now time for a change of mentality, a change in the model. Bodegas’ own leading brands, in bottle, he considers, are synonymous with investment and employment.

This contrasts with the strength of the BOB sector, another matter which has to be dealt with in order to achieve “maximum excellence”.  Surprisingly, there are very few leading brands, but there need to be, in order to gain critical mass, and anyone who wants to go their own way does not have to belong to the DO. We should go for quality and not do what Montilla and Condado de Huelva (other Andaluz fortified wines) have done by embracing BIB.

Oloroso Dulce San Rafael 19.5%, Barbadillo

Appearance
Mahogany fading through amber to pale green - tinged rim, legs.
Nose
Old oloroso, walnuts in syrup, nutty, hints of old barrels and acidity along with those of the added PX: pasas and toffee, but the oloroso dominates - a very old wine with just enough PX to round it off. Lovely.
Palate
Beautifully balanced between oloroso and PX, medium-medium sweet at the start with the oloroso following through and that crisper Sanlucar note helping it to balance. It leaves a lovely mellow buttered toast oloroso feeling on the palate that lingers.
Comments
A delicious wine, especially with Manchego type cheese, maybe even blue cheese. The oloroso has a really old feel to it, and is in fact aged over 15 years in the bodega San Roberto, with about 25% of PX. A hyper cream Sherry.

Price

I got this one at Spirited Wines for £23.54 UK importer is Fells.

17.4.13 Solear at the Feria; Castillo Matrera Collapses

Antonio Barbadillo's Manzanilla Solear is expected to sell around 600,000 1/2 bottles at the Feria de Sevilla this week. This represents about 40% of the 1.5 million consumed annually. It will be available in 500 casetas and the company will have a staff of 100 working there. Manzanilla La Guita will also have a strong presence. Now that the Feria season has started, sales of Sherry are on the up. It is the busiest time of year apart from Christmas, and some of the Jerez bodegas are taking an interest. Traditionally, they have concentrated more on exports, but Gonzalez Byass, for example is keen.

Of the 10 million bottles of Manzanilla sold annually, one third come from Barbadillo.


The XIIIC Castillo Matrera, commonly known as the Torre Pajarete has suffered a major structural collapse. Lack of maintenance and recent heavy rainfall weakened parts of the building, and walls, a couple of storeys and a vault have all fallen down.

The castle, near Villamartin, a little east of Jerez and outside the Sherry zone, sits at the top of a sierra at about 525 metres altitude and has a commanding view in all directions. It was built by the Moors, and later formed part of the "banda morisca", a series of fortifications to protect Sevilla from them.

The area once had vineyards which produced very sweet wines, which, of course, were known as Pajarete (or in English, Paxarette). Nowadays, though not much used, Pajarete tends to be a blend of must or wine and arrope or sancocho (both made by reducing must over heat to produce very sweet wine). Pajarete was very popular with Whisky distillers for seasoning casks.

13.2.13 Fake Sherry; Barbadillo; Japanese Venenciadores

The Sherry bodegas are beginning to scent victory in the endless fight against fake Sherry.  Canada has agreed to ban these products as of the 31^st December next, when the period for selling these through expires. This is the latest in a series of bans on wines masquerading as all sorts of classic European appellations, after talks between Canada and the European Union which began 10 years ago. Previously, Canadian made “Sherry” was outselling the real thing by 9-1, and now, at last, there is an opportunity for the real thing to improve its position. Now the Consejo needs to look at the USA, especially in light of the recent success of Sherryfest in New York. American Sherries outsell Spanish ones by 5-1. Other countries too, have imitation Sherry, but in much smaller quantities.

Two wines from Bodegas Barbadillo have been awarded prizes by the Spanish Association of Journalists and Wine Writers. Amontillado VORS and Manzanilla Solear won against 403 other wines, making Jerez the Denominacion de Origen with the most awards with 7 prizes in total.

Recently a group of 10 Japanese wine professionals visited Jerez to take part in the ninth edition of the Japan Sherry Academy. They attended in-depth seminars on all aspects of Sherry imparted by Beltran Domecq and Cesar Saldana. Every year in Japan, an important market for Sherry, a venencia competition is held, and last year’s winner, Kosuno Ki Yokihuro was on hand.

Manzanilla En Rama 1a Saca 2011 15%, Barbadillo

Appearance
Quite deep strawy gold, some depth for a fino, bright.
Nose
Full, soft, broad and yeasty, lots of bitter almond and salinity, a trace of oxidation along with a touch of autolysis and the smell of the beach. Very complex, fascinating and attractive.
Palate
Full yet soft with a trace of the fruit from whence it came, trace oxidation and autolysis mingle with the complexities imparted by the flor, thoroughly delicious if a little short.

Comments

For more detail see notes on the Saca 2012. I tasted these two side by side, and they were remarkably different. The principal reasons, I guess, are that the flor is of a diferent thickness in different seasons, so you get slight changes in the oxidative and yeasty aromas, and that the 2011 is obviously one year older and has one year's bottle age. A fascinating tasting would be to compare the four sacas of one year. I once tasted a (well-stored) Autumn saca 2008 in May 2011 and found it really interesting how it had developed. It was less punzante, slightly more oxidised and much more rounded, still with lots of flor character, aching to be an amontillado but unable. It also seemed to have more glycerol, and traces of apple or quince yet retaining its manzanilla characteristics.

Manzanilla En Rama 1a Saca 2012 15%, Barbadillo

Appearance
Quite a deep shade of gold, trace straw, bright.
Nose
Big and complex, full and broad with lots of sea air, hints of autolysis, dry scrub, flor, yellow fruits and bitter almond. Very fresh but with a whiff of Manzanilla pasada, and the complexity that goes with it.
Palate
Full, lots of flavour, tangy with hints of Manzanilla pasada, fresh, round and maritime and with a lovely slightly bitter edge, long and beautiful.
Comments

Barbadillo release the En Rama wines seasonally, in Spring Summer, Autumn and Winter, so this one is from Spring 2012. (See note on Spring 2011) These are wines drawn only from a few selected solera butts somewhere around 8 years old, and bottled with only the slightest possible pre-bottling treatment - fining with egg white - thus preserving to the maximum their aromatic and flavour profiles. Most commercial finos and manzanillas are subjected to Bentinite fining, chill filtration and physical filtration before bottling to ensure stability in export markets with different climates, and to avoid the possibility of any sediment appearing in bottle. The En Ramas therefore, need to be drunk much sooner and more quickly. That's hardly a problem, now, is it?! The problem is getting hold of any: they only fill about 1,200 half bottles from each saca.

Price

Hard to find in the Uk, but importer is Ehrmanns in London. Probably around £ 20.00

Manzanilla Extra Dry 15%, Barbadillo

Appearance
Pale strawy gold with lightish legs.
Nose
Quite saline and yeasty with a hint of autolysis, sea breezes, not over penetrating but has a hint of bitter almond.
Palate
Dry, yeasty with that hint of autolysis, quite low acidity but has a compensating touch of bitter almond, yeasty and bitter.

Comments

This is the basic standard wine, and as such is sound and genuine, good value for the price.
Price
£ 8.50 from Spirited Wines

News from Jerez 13.9.12

Muestra Gastronomica

One of the central streets of Jerez, the Alameda Vieja, came alive last night in celebration of the Harvest Festival with forty stalls serving local dishes in the second annual Muestra Gastronomica. The stalls will be open from 8.00 in the afternoon till 1 am until the 16^th, and have already attracted crowds of people. The idea is to offer a tapa and a drink for only 2.50 euros, and many stalls are also selling local produce.

Bodegas Barbadillo

The Sanlucar bodega has finished its harvest satisfied that while the shortfall in yield was about 20%, the quality was excellent Quite a lot of red grapes were harvested as well as the white in order to produce Barbadillo’s new red wine, the Gibalbin with 8 months crianza. The sin crianza Gibalbin has been produced successfully since 2008, and the crianza wine has only been produced since last year. Is is made with  Tempranillo, Merlot and Tintilla de Rota grapes.

Copa Jerez

The international food matching competition Copa Jerez .offering chefs, sommeliers and restaurateurs from all corners of the world the opportunity to show off their talent, has begun.  After a first national round to decide who will represent their countries. The international final will be held in Madrid in November. All that is required is to present a menu which matches perfectly  the wines of Jerez.