Amontillado Botaina en rama 19%, Lustau

Appearance
Old mahogany to chestnut fading through amber to a faint trace of green at the rim, coppery glints.

Nose

Elegant and fairly intense and crisp with toasted almond and hazelnut, traces of oak and very faint but attractive notes of slightly overdone toast and salty, nutty bitterness. There is a slight glyceric hint as well with traces of dried fruits which rounds it off but doesn´t completely diguise a certain leanness showing the bare bones of the wine, which is no bad thing.

Palate

It starts off quite full then goes through a hint of sweetness before drying out and getting a little lighter as it opens out showing notes of oak and traces of tannin and that salty bitter nuttiness and less dried fruit than on the nose. It is still nutty though and lean and elegant with a long dry finish.

Comments

This is one of the Domecq brands bought by Lustau from Osborne in 2008 along with their soleras, some 4,000 butts in total. Botaina was always a highly regarded Amontillado in Jerez and had an approximate average age of over 12 years. Now it is perhaps closer to 15, but Lustau do not want to change the style of this iconic wine which is arguably better than Los Arcos and Escuadrilla. While most oxidatively aged wines are bottled in the autumn and traditionally - and even now - more or less en rama, Lustau have begun to make a feature of this and apply slip labels to draw attention to the different sacas, not that they really vary that much. Anyway this is the autumn edition 2018 and 4,272 bottles were drawn from the 54 butt solera.

Price

31.90 De Albariza

Fino Del Puerto en rama Spring 2017 15%, Lustau

Appearance

Bright golden straw with golden highlights.

Nose

Forthcoming rounded and attractive with plenty of flor bitterness, the faintest trace of apple and a good salty marine edge. There are also gentle notes of seaweed and olive brine which add to the maritime picture and a delightful ozone freshness.There is a little body there too.

Palate

Full and fresh with that up front yeasty bitterness, those briny saline notes and traces of straw and bitter almond. It is a serious, complex wine with tremendous depth of flavour yet very fresh and approachable. This is very fine quality and has terrific length.

Comments

From Lustau's Tres en Rama range this representative from El Puerto was bottled in April 2017 with no clarification treatment whatsoever. It has an average age of five years under flor which remains reasonably constant throughout the year, and it really shows. It has a little more weight than a Manzanilla but many of their shared maritime characteristics. Lovely.

Price
15.25 euros per 50cl bottle

Vermut Rojo 15%, Lustau

Appearance

Deep black brown fading to amber with coppery glints. 

Nose

Really herbal, bitter and spicy, the wormwood and gentian really come through and there is a faint curry note from the coriander before the sage appears. There are distinct Sherry notes with a trace of volatile acidity and cinder toffee sweetness. It is quite full on, nicely integrated and characterful.

Palate

While the sweetness is just right, it is countered by the bitterness and a very slight tannic grip, then the orange comes through. Part of the fun is that one can pick out many of the botanicals, yet they all work so well together. It has texture and considerable length and is frighteningly moreish. Great stuff.

Comments

Vermouth used to be produced by many bodegas in Jerez but fell out of fashion until quite recently. Now many are re-launching the product, mostly using original formulae. This delicious vermouth, launched in March 2016, is made from a blend of two solera wines, both over 10 years old: a dry Amontillado (80%) and a PX (20%) which is enough to give the product 150g/l sugars. The sweetness is balanced out by ten botanicals, including orange peel, gentian, angelica, wormwood, sage and coriander are macerated separately before being blended with the wine according to an old Lustau formula. This was one of the last projects of the bodega's much loved and sadly missed oenologist Manuel Lozano. 

Price

About 13 euros, widely available

If We Break the Mystique of Sherry We Will Ruin It

An interview with Lustau’s oenologist Sergio Martínez in yesterday’s Diario de Jerez

Having already won the International Wine Challenge (IWC) World’s Best Fortified Winemaker in July, Sergio Martínez, oenologist at Bodegas Lustau, has now won the IWC Merchant Awards Spain Best Spanish Winemaker. Lustau seems to win so many prizes; Sergio’s predecessor, Manuel Lozano, won the former award no fewer than seven times consecutively.

You managed to win the award at first attempt.

Many might see it that way, but I’ve been working at Lustau since 2003 and since 2004 with Manolo (Manuel Lozano, Sergio’s predecessor. I am doing everything in practically the same way and the only real difference is that before, Manolo was in charge and now it is me. Given that he was 61, I was gradually working to take over from him when he retired, but unfortunately that happened sooner than expected when he died suddenly last year.

“Continuity and a new air”, I think those were the words chosen by the firm in the announcement of your appointment.

Continuity is logical because Manolo set the guidelines, a route which bore fruit, and we need to follow in the same direction. And a new air because I am younger and more into technology. Manolo followed a more traditional, more classical line. I believe Manolo was the only person in the whole of Grupo Caballero who still used a typewriter. I share the same philosophy as him but with more current ideas.

What do these awards mean?

For me it means enormous personal gratification and professional satisfaction and I am delighted for the whole team at Lustau because each member brings something to it, from the one who tops up the soleras to the one who decides on investment. It is a sign that all the cogs are working together.

Part of the awards belongs to Manuel Lozano.

Absolutely and I pointed that out at the awards ceremony in London, because he set the bar and it would be stupid to deviate from his roadmap.

Did you think beforehand that you could win?

Honestly, yes. All the time I saw Manolo, his career and how he worked every day and dreamed that one day I could win it, but I never expected it to be so soon. But that will not necessarily hold me to continue working the same way. Just the nomination was fantastic, but if I won it, so much the better!

Has someone with so short a career as an oenologist ever won the award before?

I really don’t know, but Lustau has won 30% of the World’s Best Fortified Winemaker awards; manolo won it seven times and Manuel Arcila and Juan Fuentes won it before him. I am very grateful to the firm for supporting continuity, for natural succession, and there is the result, a real success.

To what is owed the success of the Lustau wines in this competition?

The wines are very well looked after, pampered from the vine to the glass as Manolo used to say. We are right on top of the whole process and attend to every detail. We are always looking for quality – excellence – and that is what people want.

How did an isleño (someone from San Fernando, Cádiz) land in Jerez?

Although I am from San Fernando, my maternal aunt was from Chiclana; she had a vineyard and was a member of the local cooperative, and that world always attracted me. I was finishing my studies for a career in chemistry and six months of practical sessions cropped up at Lustau in the quality control department with a certain Manuel Lozano as tutor. When I finished they offered me the post of capataz as the old one was retiring. They gave me that opportunity, and I am still here.

Manolo wasn’t keen to leave his bodega, are you more of a travelling oenologist?

It’s true that Manolo didn’t like going anywhere; he was a real bodega man. I‘m not all that keen either as I am a little shy but little by little one gets moving, and I do understand that the figure of the oenologist offers great commercial support.

Lustau has a range of en rama wines; Finos from jerez and El Puerto de Santa María and a Manzanilla from Sanlúcar. So is there a difference between Fino and Manzanilla?

It is a delicate matter and one has to draw a fine line. By its location and definition Manzanilla can only come from Sanlúcar. What differentiates it from Jerez, for example, is that the flor covers the wine’s surface all year round thanks to the microclimate. So using the term Fino in Sanlúcar goes against the meaning of Manzanilla in my opinion.

So how do you know what you are drinking then, since a Consejo Regulador commission concluded that there is no way, divine or human, of differentiating between Fino and Manzanilla?

Strictly speaking, if there is a study which says not, then fine, but there is a clear organoleptic difference because Manzanilla grows more flor. There is a lot of legend around the wines of Jerez and if we go there we will break the magic, the mystique and ruin the Denominación de Origen.

Fino en rama (Jerez) Spring 2015 15.5%, Lustau

Appearance

Bright amber tinged strawy gold with golden glints.

Nose

Wonderfully fresh and nicely developed; quite intense with lots of almondy acetaldehyde and bitter flor but with subtler notes behind like faint traces of oxidation, toasted bread and oily, almost buttery notes along with a gently saline hint of dry scrub. Hints of cabezuela add even more complexity.

Palate

Equally intense; bone dry and fresh with full-on flavour and that bitter flor and the complexity of 2 years' bottle age distracting one from the lowish acidity. This is delicious and full of that almost sun-baked Jerez style as opposed to the racier brinier Sanlucar and Puerto styles, and has an attractive chalky mineral texture and incredible length.

Comments

Now that this wine has spent two years in bottle I thought it would be fun to try it - and it certainly was! It is in beautiful condition and could happily spend much longer in bottle. Each spring, only enough wine is selected to fill two butts, so there were only perhaps a couple of thousand bottles of this roughly 5 year old wine. It just shows how much is lost in filtration and how worth while it is to keep these wines aside for a year or two - or even more.

Price

12 euros per 50cl bottle, Licores Corredera

3 En Rama El Puerto Spring 2016 15.5%, Lustau

Appearance

Amber tinged gold with bright golden glints, legs.

Nose

Gorgeous deep, intense yeasty notes of thick spring flor. There are some attractive notes from the cabezuela coming through giving it a delightful richness and a gently nutty, buttery, almost toasty complexity with a hint of olive. You can really smell the humid sea air which adds a lovely freshness.

Palate

Fairly full with a perfect harmony between the bitterness of the flor and the more lactic flavours from the cabezuela. Low acidity is compensated by the bitterness and it is really well rounded, soft and deeply tasty, fresh without the  wildness of Manzanilla and the weight of Jerez. Lovely.

Comments

Having been bottled in April 2016, this wine now has a year in bottle. It is also the first anniversary of the death, at only 61, of the greatly missed man who made it, Manuel Lozano, and it really demonstrates his skill. The 3 En Rama range beautifully shows the difference between the wines of the three Sherry towns, and is bottled in spring every year at  about 5 years old and without any stabilisation.

Price
15.25 euros, Licores Corredera

11.5.17 Lustau Launches New White vermouth

After the success of their red vermouth, Bodegas Lustau yesterday launched a white partner for it. The ceremony was held on the 24^th floor of Sevilla’s only skyscraper, the 40 storey Torre Sevilla, completed last year. The new vermouth is the result of the close collaboration of Lustau’s oenologist Sergio Martínez and their head distiller Fernando Pérez. Together they crafted a new secret formula based on dry, mineral, almondy Fino and sweet, floral, citric Moscatel along with nine botanicals which include gentian, camomile and of course, wormwood, all macerated separately. The result is golden in colour, light and refreshing with a notably bitter finish with strong Fino notes. The new vermouth is already available through the firm’s distribution network.

Manzanilla 16%, Alexander Gordon

Appearance

Bright, fairly deep amber fading to gold, legs.

Nose

Very well developed and quite intense, this has been in bottle for at least a decade. It smells lovely nonetheless, and much more complex than it was originally. The extended bottle ageing has endowed the wine with an oxidised, very slightly oily, almost Amontillado character yet crisp Manzanilla shines through: salt, dried flowers, flor bitterness with a strong umami note along with faint autumn leaves, seaweed and tobacco notes. It does not have that slightly sweet aroma of Amontillado, and has a wilder penetrating character.

Palate

Full and intense, tangy, crisp and dry with a trace of bitterness. The most obvious flavour is oxidation, but it works so well with the wine's wild Manzanilla character. It is very clean and quite delicious with terrific length, but not for the faint hearted.

Comments

Lustau own the Alexander Gordon brand name which is  used as a sous-marque for export markets such as Scandinavia and Japan, so I was surprised to see it available here, though it is an old bottling. There is a whole range of these wines: Fino (at 15.5%) Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado, East India, Cream, PX and Moscatel. The Gordon family has a long history in Jerez starting with Arthur Gordon and dating back to the XVIII century and there are various branches which have intermarried with other Sherry dynasties. Many people might think this wine is off, but it is far from off, it has simply aged beautifully (it has 16% alcohol to protect it) and provides a fascinating insight into how Sherry develops when well stored in bottle over long periods of time.

Price

10 euros from Er Guerrita

Candela Cream 18%, Bodegas Lustau

Appearance

Paler than many Creams, deep honeyed amber with coppery highlights, legs.

Nose

Plenty of Oloroso with background notes of walnut and pasas, even autumn leaves and honey, not over intense but subtle and elegant, perhaps fairly young.

Palate

Sweet but with a gentle balancing acidity, light, clean and fresh with an appealing texture. There is a slight rolling tobacco note along with hints of slightly honeyed raisins and a certain nuttiness and good length.

Comments

In 2008 Lustau purchased the brands and soleras of the Domecq La Ina range of Fino La Ina, PX Viña 25, Oloroso Rio Viejo and Amontillado Botaina, but the range lacked a Cream and the firm's oenologist, Manuel Lozano, was charged with producing one. Candela was launched in September 2010 and in December won gold at the Concurso Internacional de Vinos de España.

Price

Around 8 euros from Licores Corredera

11.12.15 Luis Caballero Restructures; Mosto Competition Results

The Caballero group which includes Emilio Lustau has decided to reorganise to increase competitivity and profitability. Caballero consists of 40 companies, and to simplify things there will be three holding companies all owned by the family: Luis Caballero SA which will be the industrial firm; Caballero El Puerto SLU which will be the spirits firm and Emilio Lustau will be the wine firm. At a press conference the managing director, Luis Luengo assured the workforce that their jobs were safe and that he hoped there would be more work, not less.

The 185th anniversary of Ponche Caballero (foto:diariodejerez)

The results of the II Mosto Competition organised by the Consejo have been announced. The competition took place to the sound of zambombas at the Atalaya. There were 32 samples in two categories, all tasted blind by the Consejo tasting panel:

Mosto from DO bodegas: 1^st González Byass; 2^nd Barbadillo; 3^rd Hidalgo La Gitana

Mosto from DO growers: 1^st and 2^nd Emmanuel Pemán Domecq; 3^rd Juan Núñez Moreno

Beltrán Domecq said that with the competition it was hoped to give value back to the origin of the wine: the vineyard, and demonstrate the excellence of the young wines. This competition has become a fixture in the activities of Jerez thanks to keen participation of the producers and the public which also took part in the tastings.

Tassting mostos (foto:diariodejerez)

21.7.15 Junta Inspects BIB Bodegas; Manuel Lozano Does it Again;

The Food Quality Service of the Junta has made the first inspections at bodegas in Sanlúcar and Jerez which had been denounced by the Consejo and Fedejerez for selling wine in the illegal Bag-in-Box (BIB) format. Technical staff have taken samples of the wine in question and will analyse it at their laboratory to determine whether to proceed with administrative sanctions.

Apart from this possible infraction, the regulations state that it is illegal to fortify a wine from outside a Denominación de Origen (DO)which permits it, such as Jerez. The technical people have been checking the labelling of these products, which are forbidden to use terms protected by the DO such as Jerez, Sanlúcar, Fino, Manzanilla etc. and allusive terms such as Fina, en Rama etc. They are also checking whether the contents are stated on the packaging.

The inspections come barely a month after the Junta received complaints from the Consejo and Fedejerez about the proliferation of BIB. For their part the BIB producers have enlisted the support of the mayor of Sanlúcar and maintain that this format offers advantages of hygiene and transportability. Nonetheless, the Consejo has repeatedly refused to authorise it and it will remain illegal until they do.

Meanwhile the Junta’s Consumer Goods inspectors have launched a campaign to stop the use of BIB to refill empty Manzanilla bottles. This is also illegal but not uncommon in bars and restaurants.

Chief oenologist at Lustau, Manuel Lozano has been awarded the International Wine Challenge (IWC) title of Best Fortified Winemaker in the World for the seventh consecutive year. This has never happened before in the long history of the prestigious international competition. The grandeur of this honour contrasts with Manuel’s modesty as he considers it a “personal and professional satisfaction.”

In a press release Lustau underlined that his passion, dedication and lifetime’s experience dedicated to the wines of Jerez are reflected in the character and personality of some unique wines which won 45 medals, 10 of them Golds. The firm notes that the IWC is like the “Oscars” of the world of wine.

PX Vina 25 17%, Lustau

Appearance
Very deep - almost opaque blacky burnt umber to yellow at rim, pronounced slow legs, viscous.
Nose
Deeply fruity and unctuous, lots of pasa (raisin) and dried fig, you can smell that texture. It smells of the pasas arriving at the bodega, of that miraculous juice which runs from the press, only more concentrated. It is at that stage where the wine is still fruit-laden and just not quite showing the more phenolic notes of coffee and wood that greater age would bring. I would guess it is about ten years old.
Palate
That texture is here in spades! You almost feel that you are eating those pasas, and their intense sweetness covers the tannin from the grape stems which cannot be removed. There is lots of treacle and cinder toffee, along with what one might call "proto coffee" notes, but overall, here is a really good, deep, fruity wine with all the hallmarks of a good PX. I love it!
Comments
This is one of the old Domecq brands which were acquired by Lustau after the dismemberment of Domecq in 2008. The odd name of the wine stems from the name of the vineyard (or "Vina") which consisted of 25 aranzadas, an old measurement of land area. 25 of these equate to 10 hectares, so 1 aranzada is roughly equal to 1 acre. The vineyard was particularly suited to growing PX due to its exposure, but unfortunately no longer exists as they built a motorway on it. The wine is aged in a solera founded in 1892.
Price
I paid 11.30 Euros in Spain, but unfortunately UK agents Bibendum don't ship it.

Palo Cortado Peninsula 19%, Lustau

Appearance
Deep amber towards chestnut with coppery tints and the slightest trace of green at rim, legs.
Nose
Full with lots of hazelnuts and almonds and just a hint of walnut. Refined and with a certain sweetness like turron yema tostada, and just a hint of oak, lively and fresh with just a trace of Oloroso there. There is a slight savoury note, too, no doubt from the fino origins, but everything is beautifully harmonised.
Palate
Definitely on the Oloroso side, fuller, fatter than an Amontillado with  more oxidative character, walnuts in syrup and a touch of date. While the wine is dry, it does have residual sugar of nearly 5g/l which is noticeable along with the glycerol, giving a very rounded feel. This is nicely balanced by a very slightly tannic wood note. Quite sophisticated, well made and interesting with good length, but I wouldn't go quite as far as Robert Parker - see below.
Comments
Aged about 12 years, this is a lovely Palo Cortado from the firm's Solera Reserva range, awarded 96 points by Parker, who described it as "mind blowing".
Price
17.75 Euros in Spain for a 75cl. bottle but available in UK for @ £20.00 from good wine merchants. UK Importer Fields, Morris & Verdin.

Rare Amontillado Escuadrilla 18.5%, Lustau

Appearance
Mid to deep amber fading to a trace of green at rim, legs.
Nose
Fragrant with lots of hazelnut and turron con huevo tostado notes, almond cake and flan (creme caramel), so sounds quite sweet, and there is a distinct sweetness there, along with hints of aromatic Dutch tobacco, and few if any wood notes. Really elegant yet has some weight.
Palate
Rich and fairly sweet on entry, but that sweetness had us fooled; it is really just glycerol - and a fair bit of it for an Amontillado. Actually it is dry and verging on crisp, as it should be with very little residual sugar (3g/l) and total acidity of 5.85 g/l. There is also a hint of tannin, so the wood actually is represented, and balances out that implied sweetness. Good length.
Comments
A finely crafted wine with considerable charm, aged about 12 years, winner of an IWSC Gold and 94 Parker points.
Price
I paid 17,75 in Spain, and it is somewhere between £15 and 20 in the UK. Importers are Fields Morris & Verdin.

27.3.14 Al Andalus Train; Jerez Kids to Learn Wine Culture; Russians Visit Jerez

Jerez railway station was the scene recently of a promotion of the famous train “Al Andalus”. This classic old fashioned luxury tourist train is running new routes through Andalucia, and these were announced at the promotion. The season has already begun, with routes visiting Sevilla, Cordoba, Baeza, Ubeda, Granada, Ronda, Cadiz, Jerez, Sanlucar and the Doñana Park. It is a wonderful way to see Andalucia, as one can enjoy the train itself as much as the country.

(Imagen: Renfe)

 Jerez city council is to include education on wine culture at its schools as part of the European City of Wine programme. The initiative has been made possible by the donation of over 150 copies of Jesus Rodriguez’ book “La viña, la bodega y el viento” by the Gonzalez Gordon Foundation. It is worrying how many young people from the area know little of their own culture.

Bodegas Lustau has been entertaining 20 members of the Russian tourism trade to a tasting of its wines and a flamenco show. The Jerez city council has been involved too, and the event is designed to show what the city’s tourism resources can offer the tourist with plenty to spend; luxury hotels, shopping, culture etcetera. Russia is rapidly becoming an important source of tourism in Spain.

Amontillado Botaina 18.5%, Lustau

Appearance
Pure amber with coppery gold tints, fading through yellow to the slightest trace of green, legs.
Nose
Toasted almonds and hazelnuts, traces marzipan, turron,wood, damp barrels and that glyceric implied sweetness along with a faint traces of cinnamon on toast, very complex and draws you in - willingly! You could just sniff this for hours.
Palate
Full and dry with a trace of wood astringency which is balanced by that glyceric feeling of roundness or even implied sweetness. Plenyt of nuts, mainly almond and hazel, but a hint of walnut too.
Comments
This is one of the classic old Domecq brands which were bought by Lustau in 2008. The Botaina solera was laid down in 1918, and the wine is about 18 years old. It is basically La Ina Fino allowed to age and lose the flor, thus developing amazing complexity. It is worth noting that the Lustau chief oenologist, Manuel Lozano, who looks after these soleras, has won the IWSC award for best fortified winemaker five years running. The name Botaina refers to Antonio Botaina, once the owner of the vineyard which supplied the grapes for this wine.
Price
About 16-18 euros in Spain, around £15-16 in Britain. Imported by Bibendum

5.11.13 GastroCadiz; Cycle Round Bodegas and Vineyads

The first ever “GastroCadiz”took place yesterday, an event celebrating the cuisine of the province of Cadiz, and it took place at Bodegas Delgado Zuleta in Sanlucar. The well-known TV chef Dani Martinez and Bodegas Delgado Zuleta are the main promoters of the initiative which is also supported by the Consejo Regulador, whose director, Cesar Saldaña, had the job of marrying fine Sherries to the food prepared by various leading chefs.

Cadiz is blessed with great seafood, agriculture and meat, not to mention great wines, putting the province firmly on the gastronomic map. The chefs came up with some amazing dishes using only local produce, and Cesar Saldaña married it all perfectly with Sherry. This sort of initiative is surely an excellent way forward for both food and wine exports.

Another event for the European Wine Tourism day is the V Jerez Wine Tourism Cycling Route. For 5 Euros, one can sign up and start at Bodegas Lustau, where a tour is organised, and cycle out to the countryside where a meal and some Sherry awaits the weary pedallers at the Cortijo de Ducha, courtesy of the Consejo. Entries are open until Sunday, and already at least 50 have been received. It is a great family day out for little expense.