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

5.8.18 Bodegas Álvaro Domecq Launch New Liqueur

Alvaro Domecq may be 78 years old, but he is still active.  His bodega has just launched a new product called Waler 19 which is a bottled cocktail inspired by the classic Pisco Sour cocktail he had enjoyed in South America. The bittersweet product is based on Jerez Brandy holandas with a dash of Angostura, lime, a little brown sugar and two other secret ingredients. Waler is a pure breed of Arab horse, a passion of Don Álvaro, who used to be a famous rejoneador (horseback bullfighter), and the 19 refers to the alcoholic strength. This innovative drink can be enjoyed as a shot, with lots of ice or as a mixed drink, ideally with something citric and perhaps some mint. Perfect for summer sipping. The stunning bottle design was used in a fashion competition for the best matching dress.

Brandy Veragua Solera Reserva 38%, Álvaro Domecq

Appearance

Deep walnut to amber with bright copper highlights.

Nose

Full, quite powerful and forthcoming yet serious and complex with a full array of aromas: wood, caramelised walnuts, toasted almond, old Oloroso, dried orange peel and traces of hickory, pasas and vanilla.

Palate

A gentle sweetness greets the palate followed by all the above aromas in  a lovely harmony which gradually opens out giving a full bodied, quite intense brandy with its own individual sophisticated character and very good length.

Comments

This excellent brandy is made from 95% Airen and 5% Palomino grapes and is aged for at least five years in both 250 litre barrels and 500 litre butts, all previously seasoned with mostly Oloroso and a little PX. It would appear to consist mainly of holandas, which would explain the quality. The bodega offers another brandy, the Duque de Veragua Solera Gran Reserva.

Price

11.25 euros, Licores Corredera

Oloroso Alburejo 18%, Bodegas Pilar Aranda

Appearance

Deep dark mahogany fading to amber with the faintest trace of green at the rim, legs.

Nose

Serious, quite intense with tangy notes of volatile acidity with traces of raisin, oak, nuts, fallen leaves, tobacco and dried cereals. It smells quite old and complex yet is rounded off by a slight caramel note.

Palate

Full bodied with a very dry feel, not so much from tannin - though there is a little - but by the tangy acidity which also gives it zest. It has a little of the austerity and seriousness of the old wines, but not so intensely. That caramel note helps with balance to make a really interesting and rare experience.

Comments

While the label on this bottle bears the name of  the famous old almacenista Pilar Aranda, who was the first to register with the Consejo Regulador in 1933, it was actually contract bottled for Álvaro Domecq, presumably as he didn't yet have his own bottling registration (RE) number. He bought the bodega in 1999 and has since sold the wine under the Alburejo brand, named after his estate outside Jerez where he bred horses. This ties in with the coat of arms at the top of the label which shows two horses, spurs and a banderilla (a decorated barbed stick used by bullfighters) and a legend which says Nacer de Nuevo (to be born again). The coat of arms also appears on the cork. So this wine was bottled in the very early days of  Bodegas Álvaro Domecq and must have about 16 or 17 years in bottle plus its solera age which is given as over 7 years. It certainly had plenty of sediment and a thick plastic capsule of a type no longer used. I thought about marking these notes "retaste" but really the wine is different to the Alburejo of today (QV).

Price

21 euros from Licores Corredera 

Amontillado VORS 1730 19.5%, Álvaro Domecq

Appearance

Lightish copper-tinged mahogany through amber to a trace of green at the rim, legs.

Nose

Most attractive start with the crisp nuttiness of toasted almond and hazelnut, traces of turrón yema tostada, caramel on toast and faint oak notes. It is aromatic and elegant, very Amontillado.

Palate

Lively and fairly crisp and tangy with volatile acidity and comparatively low glycerine, so it is very dry but balanced by the sweet aromas mentioned above and perhaps a slight tobacco note. Clean and refined with little or no aggressive tannin and an open texture, it is long and charming.

Comments

Just to avoid any confusion, this is not a vintage 1730 wine nor is it from a solera of that date. It is a brand name - more correctly Line 1730 - which refers to the date always given as that of the foundation of Pedro Domecq, an extensive family to which Álvaro belongs. Actually 1730 was the date Patrick Murphy established his bodega which was left to Juan Haurie and taken over by Pedro Domecq nearly 100 years later. Anyway, Álvaro bought the old Pilar Aranda bodega in 1999 and this is from one of her soleras. This excellent wine is over 30 years old with an annual production of 3,600 half bottles a year. 

Price

20.50 euros per half bottle from Licores Corredera