Brandy Solera Gran Reserva 40%, Infantes Orleans Borbón

Appearance
Mahogany fading through amber to a trace of green at the rim with coppery golden glints.

Nose

Full and quite serious with little if any apparent sweetness yet well rounded and it is mostly the well matured spirit itself one is smelling rather than any added sweetening or flavouring. There are traces of oak, vanilla, dried fruits, walnut and brown sugar, but mostly fine spirit.

Palate

Rich, round and completely unaggressive on entry with a hint of sweetness which subsides leaving a drier impression but with only traces of tannin which you need to look for and which are balanced out by the natural sweetness of the spirit and perhaps just a little sweetening. It is very smooth quite complex and has considerable depth, gentle grip and terrific length.

Comments

This excellent brandy is made from a blend of selected holandas and aguardientes and aged through old soleras for 20 years in what were once the stables below the Duke of Montpensier´s palace in Sanlúcar´s Calle Baños. The Duke was the son of the King of France, and hoped to become King of Spain but that didn´t work out. It was his heirs, the infantes (princes), who founded the bodega in 1948 based on the Torrebreba vineyard. To get started they bought soleras, so this one is older than the foundation date of the bodega. Quality was always key but nowadays the products are rarely seen and I believe those which are seen owe thanks to Barbadillo.

Price

31.60, De Albariza

Peach Brandy 28%, Bodegas Orleans Borbón

Appearance
Very deep brown like a Cream Sherry with copper highlights, quite viscous.
Nose

Intense aromas of super ripe yet tangy peach with fruity background PX notes. It is very rich and full and the brandy used seems to be of very good quality. Naturally it smells sweet and there is a hint of caramel, yet despite the rich sweetness it smells very fresh and appealing.

Palate

Sweet up front with soft almost creamy, caramelly PX balancing with that tangy peach. The 20 year ageing has brought all the nuances into harmony giving a very sophisticated product which despite its sweetness finishes clean, and very long. Best enjoyed on its own either straight from the fridge or with some ice.

Comments

This delicious, different and highly regarded peach brandy comes from a recipe brought by Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Sanlúcar from England in 1943, the year the bodega was established. She was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and wife of Alfonso of Orleans Borbón, an Infante of Spain and unsuccessful pretender to the throne.The recipe was slightly adapted and improved to work well with the brandy from the Orleans Borbón soleras. Specially selected peaches are steeped in brandy before some sweet PX wine is added and the result is aged for 20 years. This liqueur has much greater colour and depth and a higher strength than most of the others, not to mention much greater age, which makes it far superior. Most after all are just white spirit with concentrated peach flavouring. This is real. Production is very small and interestingly, but oddly, the RE bottler code is that of Pedro Romero who went bust two years before this was bottled.

Price

30 euros, Guerrita