Oloroso Encontrado 1/5 20%, Sanchez Romate

Appearance

Bright, clean, open, chestnut to pale patinated mahogany fading to amber with copper/amber highlights and a trace of green at the rim.

Nose

Super fragrant with the elegance and finesse only age can bring. It is very complex and homogenised but there are all sorts of nuances like dried fruit, cinnamon, old oak, polished antique furniture, dried orange peel, walnut and toasted nuts. There is also a slight impression of sweetness, as if the wine were not quite bone dry, while the alcohol level is unaggressive.

Palate

Intensely flavoured with all the nuances mentioned above and a delightful open texture with a certain crispness and more than a hint of salinity which remove any impression of sweetness. After the initial intensity it opens out forming a delicious mellowness with very little of the tannin one might expect in such an old wine but all of the flavour, which lingers seemingly forever.

Comments

The story of this superb wine is that five butts of old Oloroso were recently discovered (encontrado) hidden away in the bodega and they were too good not to be released for connoisseurs. A very small quantity was therefore bottled with the absolute minimum of filtration. As the wine had been forgotten it is not known how old it is exactly, but it is certainly old and well over 30 years old what with its intensity and high glycerine content. It is not labelled VORS as Romate don´t believe in that system, there is so little of it and the age is not known, however it is certainly up there with the best old wines. The Wine Society in the UK among many others are raving about it.

Price
23 euros per half bottle, Licores Corredera

Brandy Solera Reserva 36%, Sánchez Romate

Appearance

Deep mahogany with copper highlights and a trace of green on an amber rim.

Nose

Full with plenty of Oloroso and vanilla with a hint of dried fruit and faint traces of cinnamon, orange peel and oak. There is an element of class with delicate hints of polished furniture and there is an attractive freshness.

Palate

Oloroso and caramel at the start then those warm spices and a trace of pipe tobacco follow through. It has a lot of flavour and a hint of sweetness which is quite tightly packed without any aggressive tannins and it has a long clean finish.
Comments

Sánchez Romate are the producers of one of the finest Jerez Brandies, Cardenal Mendoza, so even with their more basic Solera Reserva they don't mess about. It has an average age of about two and a half years. The minimum age for a Solera reserva is one year and that for Solera Gran Reserva is three, so this is upmarket for a Solera Reserva. It is aged in  a solera whose butts previously held Oloroso and is very good value. 

Price
9.95 euros, Licorería La Latina

Brandy Cardenal Mendoza Carta Real Solera Gran Reserva 40%, Sánchez Romate

Appearance

Deep walnut tinged mahogany with gold and copper highlights and a trace of green at the rim.

Nose

Intense and aromatic with a wealth of nuances. An attractive caramel and raisin sweetness greets the nose, then there are notes of dried fig, date, prune, oak, dried orange peel, spice and traces of Oloroso and PX, but with a brandy of this age many nuances are melding together to form an outstanding and complex bouquet. 

Palate

Full and super smooth with remarkably little tannin, but a great deal of flavour. It coats the mouth generously with a gentle sweetness and develops powerful notes of dried fruits, traces of nuts, toffee, oak, leather and tobacco. It has real layers of flavour and an extremely long and fairly dry finish.

Comments

This superb brandy was introduced to commemorate the arrival of the new milennium with something special and is available in limited quantities in numbered bottles. It has an average age of at least 25 years. A parcel of the standard Cardenal Mendoza, already a Solera Gran Reserva was set aside for extra ageing in 1981, the bi-centenary of the founding of the bodega. It was put in mainly old Oloroso and a few PX butts till it had an average age of at least 25 years. The name Carta Real commemorates a dinner at the Royal Palace in Madrid in 1900 when wines and brandies from Sánchez Romate were served. In fact the owner of the bodega at the time, Juan Manuel Sánchez y Gutiérrez de Castro was also a minister to King Alfonso XII who elevated him to Duke of Algeciras for his efficiency in organising an international conference there.

Price
Around 70 euros

16.6.16 Unusual Sherries Music Competition; Babé Re-elected

The association of traders in the centre of Jerez and bodegas Sánchez Romate have got together to organise a competition to find young musical stars. “Unusual Sherries Music” is open to soloists or groups in any style of music who wish to find their way in the world of music, and inscriptions are open till the 27^th June. Performances will take place in the streets of Jerez from the 1^st July and the winner will get a professional video recording of a 30 minute show in the Sánchez Romate bodegas. The runner up will get a diploma and a selection of the bodega’s products.

Evaristo Babé Romero has been re-elected as president of the Consejo Regulador Brandy de Jerez, a post he has held since the outset of the Denominación de Origen in 1987 and which has 27 member bodegas. Also re-elected was the vice president, Francisco Javier Requejo of Sánchez Romate. Both men were re-elected unanimously. Let us hope that they, along with the very smart new website http://www.brandydejerez.es/ can revive the fortunes of this superb product.

Moscatel Ambrosía 18%, Sánchez Romate

Appearance

Deep, opaque walnutty brown to a trace of brown-stained amber at the rim, legs.

Nose

Old and concentrated Moscatel, you can even smell the pulpy texture from the well-sunned pasas give it its charming fruity character along with traces of dried fig, toffee and caramel.

Palate

Rich and viscous yet fresh with lots of dried Moscatel fruit and very tangy. For such a joyous wine it is quite serious, intense and deeply flavoured with that pulp texture providing grip and the fresh acidity stopping it cloying and giving terrific length.

Comments

Ambrosia was the mythological nectar of the Greek Gods, so one expects a decent wine and it certainly is. It is outstanding. The wine is late harvested and well sunned Moscatel de Chipiona, the type known as Moscatel de Pasas. Production is very limited as there are only five solera butts and the wine is only occasionally released at around fifteen years of solera age. Despite belonging to Romate's Reservas Especiales range, there is surprisingly no mention of it on the website, though they are embarking on a new one, something quite a few bodegas should consider. Interestingly, since the bodega was founded in 1781, they released a special bi-centenary bottling using an old label, and if you feel rich, Vilaviniteca still have two bottles for 295.00 euros each. It would offer a fairly rare glimpse of how it ages in bottle for well over thirty years.

Price

About 18 euros from El Corte Inglés

Current presentation

Bicentenary presentation

¿Fuego? No Thanks Medium Sherry 18.5%, Sánchez Romate

Appearance

Quite deeply coloured, blacky brown with slight ruby glints to amber, legs.

Nose

Full and deep, quite intense and slightly savoury, cinder toffee, walnut in syrup, plenty PX there but showing its more savoury side rather than the fruity one, smells like Oloroso behind it too.

Palate

Sweet at first, but that subsides a little revealing a fair bit of PX fruit - and some of its texture - and lots of walnut and a gentle tang of acidity. Perhaps a little sweet for a Medium and certainly quite a full bodied and quite serious wine, if more like an old fashioned Cream. Nice long finish though.

Comments

This is one of the three wines released fairly recently under the "Unusual Sherries" range, which also offers a Pale Cream and a PX. What is unusual is the presentation; a Burgundy-style bottle is used yet it still has a Sherry-style stopper cork, and the cartoon labels are designed to attract younger drinkers. This particular one uses a scene from Breakfast at Tiffany's where someone offers Audrey Hepburn fuego (a light in Spanish)  and she replies in English "No thanks, medium Sherry." This wine is made from Amontillado from different soleras blended with a little PX, and the bodega recommends trying it chilled with some almonds or with ice and a slice of orange or as an accompaniment to patés, curry or sweet and sour dishes.  I haven't got round to trying it with all these, but it is certainly delicious with ice and a slice, and goes well with blue cheese.

Price  

8.50 euros

Oloroso 20% Old & Plus, Sánchez Romate

Appearance

Deep, dark, walnut-stained mahogany fading through amber to a hint of green at the rim, legs - I'm sure this is very slightly more viscous than most, it moves more slowly in the glass.

Nose

Intense slightly tight yet refined, it instantly tells you it is old, serious, deep and brooding, with notes of exotic woods like cedar, old oak butts, hints of cinnamon-spiced old English marmalade and the smell of an antique furniture shop.

Palate

Concentrated and full bodied at first yet opens out like a fan with all sorts of beautiful nutty flavours and even textures. For an exceptionally old wine it has remarkably little tannin and lacks the slight austerity of some of its peers. That slight viscosity, which might have presaged a sweet element, simply rounds it off; it is dry, luxuriant and very long, quite delicious.

Comments

This superb Oloroso is well over 30 years old yet the bodega apparently chooses not to call it VORS. This is probably because it is an expensive and time consuming process which not all bodegas adhere to. They are not quite sure how old the solera is, but it is certainly very old, well over a century, possibly two, after all the bodega dates from 1781. In the end the wine speaks eloquently for itself. The firm makes two other Old & Plus wines: Amontillado and PX and these "sacristía wines were always kept for family use with only very limited quantities reaching the market since the launch in 2009. In a tasting at the time of 24 fine Olorosos by elmundovino.com this one came out top.

Price

40 euros per 50cl ship's decanter style bottle (it comes in a box)

25.9.15 Interesting New Sherry from Romate

Bodegas Sánchez Romate is launching a new and very different range of Sherries. It consists of three sweet wines with modern labelling and Burgundy-style bottles and is called “Unusual”. Each wine has an unusual name: Pedro Ximénez “Voy a Perderme” (I’m going to lose myself), Medium “¿Fuego? No Thanks” (Light? No Thanks) and Pale Cream “Mirame Cuando te Hablo” (Look at me when I’m Talking to You).

Pale Cream and Medium are styles which are not widely available on the Spanish market and the PX has a little Moscatel blended in so they are quite novel wines in Spain, but easy to drink. The labels carry the approval of the Women’s Institute and were designed by the well-known illustrator Lore Vigil-Escalera who worked with Romate before on promotional material for Fifty Pounds Gin. The attractive labels are aimed at supermarket shelves where some 40% of consumers buy wine because they like the label, and the bottle shape was chosen because there is more room for the label.

(foto:diariodejerez)

According to the commercial director of Romate, Marcelino Piquero, the aim is to approach a new, younger customer with an informal message, and not just in export markets. They are wines which can be taken in a large glass with ice and a slice of orange or lemon, and the Medium will take a splash of soda. First to be launched is the Pale Cream, the first 500 cases of which should be seen in local shops shortly. The bodega is thinking of extending the range to dry wines at some point, especially with a Fino, but it will also be unusual.

Bodegas: Carlos & Javier de Terry “501 Del Puerto”

The Terry family of Cork in Ireland were extremely successful merchants but problems with the English led some of them to establish themselves on the continent where much trade was already done, and others in the Americas. William Terry bought vineyards and olive groves near El Puerto de Santa María in 1762 and set himself up in the wine business, successfully exporting wine to the Americas. He also bred the famous Carthusian horses.

The bodegas in El Puerto (foto: gentedelpuerto.com)

A number of branches of the family lived in Spain and Carlos and Javier de Terry were related to Fernando Ángel Terry del Cuvillo of Bodegas Terry. At about the end of the XIX century they bought some XVIII century soleras from Manuel Moreno de Mora and established the firm under the name of Carlos & Javier de Terry SL. Osborne meanwhile, bought one of the bodegas, which is still called “La Mora”. The firm prospered initially, and their Brandy 501 was a runaway success, but things became more difficult by the 1960s.

The sacristia at 501 (foto:gentedelpuerto.com)

In 1993 Pedro Torres, a director of the Banco de Andalucía, and a partner bought the firm which was re-named Bodegas 501 de El Puerto SA to avoid Confusion with the firm Fernando A de Terry. The firm was modernised and the classic brandy “501” was re-introduced. Later it passed entirely to the Torres family. Pedro’s son, José Carlos Torres Gázquez has run the business since 1998.

Interior of the bodegas 

An agreement was signed with Osborne in 2009 whereby the latter would make the 501 Brandy for an initial period of 3 years at their bodega El Tiro which is state of the art, but under the supervision of the 501 technical people. Interestingly El Tiro is so called because it was built on ground once used for clay pigeon shooting (in Spanish Tiro de Pichón). Brandy 501 is in the top 4 solera brandies in Spain and is widely exported.

Zurbaran was a famous painter (foto:todocoleccion.net)

Finding it increasingly difficult to operate profitably in an area which the council would like to see converted into flats, Bodegas 501 signed an agreement with Bodegas Sánchez Romate in 2010. This meant the latter would undertake, at their bodegas in Jerez, the production, ageing and bottling of all 501 products destined for export. All stocks now lie at Sánchez Romate.

Sherries include Fino Marinero, Fino Mariscos, Fino María Cruz, Cream Zurbarán, Oloroso Tercios, 501 Gades PX, Amontillado VOS and Viejo, Also Vinagre 501 vinegar

Amontillado Old & Plus VORS 19%, Sanchez Romate

Appearance
Transparent deep amber with slight coppery tones fading to yellow with a trace of green at the rim, legs.
Nose
Big, forthcoming, broad and textured with slight burnished woody notes indicating age, yet there are still slight saline and savoury autolytic traces. Fairly intense yet lively, with hints of turron yema tostada, almond, hazelnut praline, walnut and toasty American oak. Very complex yet open. Very attractive, it just draws you right in - more than willingly.
Palate
Starts off full of approachable charm, soft, gentle sweet and rounded, then the fuller more serious side kicks in, plenty of old oak gives grip but not excessive, toasted almond, hazelnut and walnut, lovely tension between acidity and glyceric sweetness and plenty of body. It is constantly opening out in the glass and evolving, like a wine trapped for ages in a solera then a bottle bursting out for freedom. It has terrific length and is quite lovely.
Comments
A superb wine, well over 30 years old, but from a solera over 200 years old, dating back to the early days of the bodega established in 1781. The soleras supplying the Old & Plus range (Oloroso, Amontillado and PX) were always kept aside for the family's own consumption, but small amounts are bottled occasionally.
Price
Not much of this wine is commercialised, but Harrods stock it at £64,95. The bottle contains 50cl, (and comes in an individual box) so it is not cheap - unless you compare it with Bordeaux or Burgundy! UK importers are Eaux de Vie, but they only seem to list the PX for some reason.

Manzanilla Viva la Pepa 15%, Sanchez Romate

Appearance
Very pale silvery strawy gold, some legs.
Nose
Light and fresh with saline seaside notes. Lots of camomile, bread dough and bitter-sweet flor, traces of almost candied fruit and traces of almost seaweedy brine.
Palate
Slightly fuller than expected, very fresh and racy with slightly more acidity than some. Very dry with floral almondy notes, its youth is there to be seen in that slight fruity character, but is part of its charm. Very persistent and far too easy to drink.
Comments
There can be no more Gaditano name than this! La Pepa was the familiar name given to the Constitution of Cadiz in 1812, and is, of course, also a familiar name for a girl called Josefa, who perhaps is the subject of the wonderful old label. {Fernando A de Terry also once had a Manzanilla Viva la Pepa, but we won't go into that}. This wine is bought in from Sanlucar almacenista Cuevas and bottled in Jerez. Most Jerez bodegas have pretty small sales of Manzanilla, but like to list it, so this is the one Romate sell. And it is very good, given that it is not much more than 3 years old.
Price
Not shipped to the UK, but around 6-10 Euros in Spain.

5.2.14 Even Locals Drink Little Sherry; New Bottles for Sanchez Romate

This is the cartoon in today's Diario de Jerez, the local daily newspaper. It highlights the fact that few people drink Sherry any more, even the Jerezanos, and that in this, the European City of Wine 2014, something needs to be done.

Customers are asking for gin and tonic, whisky, rum and coke, beer, Rioja, and just one asks for a glass of oloroso... if that's all right, and the barman is amazed.


Stunning new bottles have been announced for Sanchez Romate. They should be available soon, and certainly highlight the quality of their contents. These bottles are for the Reservas Especiales Range, which consists of Don Jose Oloroso, Palo Cortado Regente, PX Cardenal Cisneros, PX Duquesa, Moscatel Ambrosia, Iberia Cream, Fino Marismeno and Amontillado NPU. Let's hope sales take off!

PX Cardenal Cisneros 18%, Sanchez Romate

Appearance
Very viscous, dense black through burnt umber and yellow to trace green at rim.
Nose
Deep, pasas, dried dates, figs, slight savoury note and traces of coffee, old barrels, raisin pulp - and stalk. Quite serious but more than anything, pasas, with hints of fruit cake and toffee, lovely.
Palate
Rich, full, intensely sweet and concentrated, similar to nose, but with lots of texture, almost like eating pasas soaked in molasses, velvety, quite delicious, and very long.
Comments
According to the bodega this is over 8 years old, coming from their Reservas Especiales range. Certainly it doesn't have the serious complexities of VOS or VORS wines, but it is outstanding for its age. Romate produce some really good Sherries, even if much of their trade is in brandy (Cardenal Mendoza). Cardinal Cisneros was a XV/XVI century reformer, regent, and confidant of Fernando II.
Price
£21.95 at Drinkmonger (Edinburgh & Pitlochry), UK importer Eaux de Vie

Back from Jerez: Part 2

My appointment for the next day was in Jerez with the team at bodegas Sanchez Romate: Commercial Director Marcelino Piquero, International Area Director Cesar Gutierrez and Miriam Alonso from the Export Department. A nicer and more good humoroued bunch would be hard to find. The bodega complex is in the central Calle Lealas - where it has always been, and is still family owned after 230 years.

Bodegas Sanchez Romate, Jerez

Romate has a range of Sherries of serious quality, but their biggest line in terms of turnover is the out-standingly good brandy Cardenal Mendoza, aged in oloroso and PX butts for complexity and smoothness. They also offer an excellent rum, Manacas. But we're on the subject of Sherry here. They offer three ranges: the Romate range, more of a commercial range; the Special Reserve range, which are serious and very old wines; and the Old & Plus range which are the VORS wines, all excellent value for money.

Soleras and Criaderas of Fino Marismeno, Sanchez Romate

The bodega is old and traditional, but is nevertheless equipped with modern stainless steel tanks, pumps, filtration etc., the perfect fusion of old and new. We left the office and entered the old, nicely humid bodegas permeated with that beautiful scent of ageing Sherry. After much discussion Cesar very kindly took me to lunch at the excellent restaurant Carbona, in what used to be a bodega. There the discussion continued over a wonderful meal and a glass or two of Romate's gorgeous Fino Perdido (see tasting notes).

Restaurante Carbona, Jerez

On my way home from a fascinating visit and a lovely lunch, I happened across one of those wonderful Jerezano institutions, the Tabanco El Pasaje. Surely another glass of Sherry wouldn't kill me, I thought, and went in. The tabancos are traditional bars serving Sherry from the barrel (in a frozen glass), and there is always a good atmosphere. Here, some people were seated at a table with a guitar, singing and strumming as best they could with all that Sherry. One quick glass soon turned into three and the conversation got more interesting till I decided that a siesta was what I needed most. After all, there was a whole evening ahead.

Tabanco El Pasaje, Jerez

But in the end, a quiet dinner was what I needed - after an aperitif of Fino La Ina at the popular central bar the Gallo Azul, of course! It is a great place - between the Market and the Plaza del Arenal roughly, with a dining room upstairs and tapas downstairs. Great for people watching!

Gallo Azul, Jerez

Bodegas: Sanchez Romate Hnos.

One of the few larger bodegas to remain in family hands, Sanchez Romate was established in 1781. The founder, a restless, educated man called Juan Sanchez de la Torre was born in 1756 and came, like many bodegueros, from Ruiloba in Santander. He enjoyed the bustle of Jerez in the formative years of Sherry's success and was a noted benefactor to the city, founding various schools and institutes. He also lent money and even wine to smaller bodegas. A street is named after him. He had no children and on his death in 1838 the business passed to to those of his brother with whom he had been associated, one of whom married into the Romate family, and to their children's children. He must have been extremely successful as he is said to have left 12 million reales de vellon in his will.

In 1887 the fourth generation of the family introduced a new product, brandy. It had been intended for the use of  family and friends, but was so good they decided to market it. They chose the name Cardenal Mendoza after a XV century cardinal who helped Columbus, and the brandy has been very successful ever since, providing a worthwhile income while sales of Sherry are depressed. In 1909 the firm was appointed official supplier of Sherry to the House of Lords, and in 1917 to the Vatican. One of the bodegas contained three enormous toneles, each with a capacity of 20,000 litres, named after the three sons of Noah: Sem, Cam and Jafet. These were used for making large quantity blends and were later substituted by tiled cement vats.

Facade in C/Lealas showing fungus from brandy ageing

The company owns about 100 hectares of albariza vineyard, the Viña Soledad in the pago Balbaina for the production of Finos and a little parcel of PX, and the Viña Santa Genoveva in the pago Carrascal mainly used for Olorosos and Palos cortados. They buy in Moscatel from Chipiona. When Fernando de Castilla bought the soloeras of Jose Bustamante, Romate bought the bodega next door and also that of the old firm of Wisdom and Warter (though not the soleras which went to Gonzalez Byass). The Romate bodegas, built mostly in 1820, have an interesting device to maintain the necessary 70% humidity. Instead of simply spraying water from a hose, they have a high pressure mist spray system on the walls. It is efficient and economical with water.

Now in its 10th generation, Romate exports to over 40 countries, and produces much BOB (buyer's own brand) Sherry. One prominent client is the Wine Society. Some of the firm's bottlings have magnificent old fashioned labels of  Victorian ladies, for example their Manzanilla "Viva la Pepa" and the 8 year old Fino Perdido from the 85 butt Celestino solera (a different solera to Marismeño). The firm also contract bottles wine for Cayetano del Pino and Fernando de Castilla, as well as supplying occasional almacenista wines for Viniberia.

The range consists of: Brandy, Vinegar, table wine from Rueda and Ribera del Duero, and Sherry:

Old and Plus:

Amontillado, Oloroso and PX from 200 year old soleras once kept back for family use. They are sold in 50cl decanters and are well over 30 years old and easily VORS, but the firm does not believe in this system.
Other special wines:

Fino Perdido, Amontillado Olvidado, Oloroso Encontrado.

Special Reserve:

Fino Marismeno, and the following are all 15 years old: NPU Amontillado; Palo Cortado Regente; Oloroso Don Jose; Iberia Cream; PX Duquesa; PX Cardenal Cisneros; Moscatel Ambrosia

Romate:

Fino; Medium Amontillado; Dry Oloroso; Cream; PX. Also Manzanilla Viva La Pepa (once Fernando A de Terry)

Brandy:

Romate, Cardenal Mendoza, cardenal Mendoza Lujo, Cardenal Mendoza Carta Real, Cardenal Mendoza NPU, Uno en Mil (static aged single cask brandy)

Liqueur:

Angelus - based on brandy with bitter orange, lemon, cardamom and clove
Rum:
Ingenio Manacas (own solera in Jerez)
 

Officially they don't offer visits, but might be persuaded...

Address:  C/ Lealas, 26-30, 11404 Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz
Tel:  (+34) 956 182 212
Web:  www.romate.com