Amontillado en rama 2001 saca enero 2019 20%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance

Deep amber with old gold highlights and the faintest trace of green at the rim.

Nose

Generous and forthcoming aromas of toasted almond and hazelnut with a faint hint of garrapiñadas (almonds in caramel) giving a trace of sweetness to balance the crispness and a hint of bitterness and salinity deriving from the flor stage, and after all these years. Attractive, interesting and charming.

Palate

Pronounced initial notes of caramel and toffee give the wine considerable roundness and balance out most of the tangy volatile and bitter flor flavours. They are followed by lots of nuts and a very light grip from wood tannin making the wine is amazingly smooth, fairly light and quite lively. It is perhaps a shade less crisp than a solera Amontillado and has a hint of the old sunned rather than fortified style, and despite fairly low acidity has great length.

Comments

Bottled in January 2019, this lovely and fascinating Amontillado is over 17 years old. The grapes came from the usual sources in the pagos Añina and Carrascal and the first pressing juice was fermented and fortified to 15.5% then barrelled up for static ageing in 600 litre butts. So far in the añadas project the wine was left to become Amontillado naturally by allowing the flor to die off as the alcoholic strength rose, but this was the first wine to receive a second fortification, to 18%, and I would guess fairly late on. 2001 was a normal year weather-wise.

Price

38.90 per 50cl, Licores Corredera

 

Palo Cortado en rama 2002 saca enero 2019 20%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance

Bright amber with brassy golden highlights.

Nose

Very elegant and lighter than one might expect for its age but with all sorts of subtle and complex  nuances. There are still slightly saline traces of Fino along with hints of toasted bread, some nutty very slightly rancio oxidative notes, faint  traces of olive, blonde tobacco, recently sawn wood, a very gentle caramel sweetness. It has neither the overt almond of Amontillado nor the walnut of Oloroso and the oxidation is very delicate, unusual and delightful, with a distant trace of spice.

Palate

A little bigger on the palate with a faint biological bitterness and salinity in the background and a touch more volatile acidity than expected, but that soon rounds itself off, balanced by a tiny amount of residual sugar and the wine finishes dry. It has an attractive texture with a hint of that albariza dryness with hardly any tannin so it is very smooth and extremely graceful with good length.

Comments

100% Palomino grapes from the firm´s own vineyards in the classic Jerez pagos of Carrascal and Añina were lightly pressed and fermented in tanks before the wine was filled into bodega butts where it was left to age statically rather than in solera. This wine was fortified to 18% at the sobretablas stage when it had only had just a little flor, and it spent the rest of its life ageing oxidatively. Since every butt is different, they are carefully monitored and classified, and in this case a selection was made from the best of the 24 butts ageing oxidatively which really showed albariza character and the finesse of Palo Cortado.

Price

33.85 per 50cl, Licores Corredera

Oloroso en rama 2001 saca enero 2019 21.5%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance

Bright deep amber or polished antique chestnut with old gold highlights.

Nose

Classic, fragrant and finely honed Oloroso aromas of toasted bread and nuts, tobacco, walnut, leather and a trace of antique polished furniture. There is a lightness of touch here and the wine is very fresh, elegant and aromatic with a faint suggestion of sweetness.

Palate

Fresh, generous and well rounded, still with that apparent sweetness but it gradually fades to dryness. There is a certain gentle grip, from wood tannin one supposes, and it adds structure but not so much that it detracts from the wine´s elegance and distinct charm. It seems so young in many ways and while it is over 17 years old already it could continue to age heroically both in butt and bottle.

Comments

Like all the firm´s vintage en rama wines, the grapes came from their albariza vineyards in the pagos Carrascal and Añina with some 20 and 60 years of age. Only first pressing musts were used which after fermentation were fortified to 18% and filled into 36@ ex Oloroso butts and left to develop oxidatively and statically under close supervision for over 17 years. Since the solera system was not used, and the wine was thus never topped up over all that time, there was a noticeable evaporation loss causing a gain in alcohol of 3.5%. In fact, without those regular rocios provided by the solera, the wine develops more rapidly and more individually which makes the añada wines so interesting. The 2010 vintage was more or less normal climatologically.

Price

42.20 euros per 50cl, Licores Corredera

Fino Jaleo 2010 en rama Enero 2019 16%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance
Bright light amber with old gold highlights.

Nose

Forthcoming and full, it shows the complexity a wine can develop over 8 years plus, ageing statically, with no refreshment. It is impressive that the flor lasted this long, though it was obviously thin as there are distinct oxidative notes, which add greatly to its character, but it is still Fino. There are some briny saline notes of flor and traces of almond and straw and it it is at a lovely stage of development.

Palate

Some distinct oxidative notes with toasted almond, faint traces of caramel with its slight suggestion of sweetness, straw and apple herald the imminent but slow demise of the flor and the wine heading gently, valiantly, towards Amontillado. There is quite a lot of body for a Fino and the flavour is intense, dry, textured and complex with a very long finish. Lovely.

Comments

The grapes for this superb vino de añada (vintage wine) came from W&H vineyards in the pagos Añina and Carrascal averaging 60 and 20 years old respectively. Only first pressings were used and after fermentation the musts were fortified to 15.5%, filled into 36@ ex Fino butts and left to mature statically. Flor appeared spontaneously and the wine was classified as Fino in 2016. Its development was closely monitored for a total of over 8 years. If there were more of this wine in the bodega, it would be amazing to see it develop into a natural Amontillado... 2010 was a cooler and wetter year than average and this is reflected in the character of the wine since it is a vintage, not a solera wine. 2,200 x 50cl bottles of this fascinating wine were produced. Jaleo is the cheering and clapping which accompanies a flamenco performance.

Price

10.60 per 50 cl, Licores Corredera

Estero Blanco 2016 12%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance
Pale strawy gold with golden highlights.
Nose

Fresh and quite fruity with notes of apple, quince jelly, apricot and a faint herbal touch along with hints of straw or esparto - a trace of bottle age creeping in maybe, but no bad thing. It has an attractive gentle apply rawness which one might expect from both Palomino and no malo-lactic.

Palate

Slightly more serious than you might expect for what the wine professes to be, and for its price. Naturally there are flavours of apple, but there are more mature notes of stewed apple and some membrillo (quince). There  is a gentle grapeskin texture and nicely judged acidity; it is clean and balanced with a fairly decent length.

Comments

This is a light straightforward white designed for summer refreshment. But it is a little confusing as  the website says it is made from Palomino grown in their own vineyards in the pago Balbaina, while the label says it is a coupage (blend) of traditional grape varieties of the area. Anyway, "Estero" means "estuary" and one imagines they want to project the idea of enjoying it with seafood on Sanlúcar's romantic Bajo de Guia while watching one of the area's legendary sunsets. The idea is good: a young, fresh, zippy wine perfect with vegetables and seafood. According to the website it is made from the first pressing and moderately cold-fermented with selected yeasts at between 17 and 19°C. The minute the alcoholic fermentation is over, after some 10 days, it is stabilised and bottled to retain a little of the CO2 and all the primary freshness. No malo-lactic here. This 2016 however, has been in bottle for 2 years now and has lost any CO2 and some of the primary aromas, but has developed a new and quite interesting character, and while it is probably not worth keeping more than another year, it is pretty sound stuff for the money. Diam cork.

Price

3.00 euros ex bodega

Oloroso en rama Añada 2009 19.5% Williams & Humbert

Appearance
Bright polished antique chestnut to deep amber with bright brassy glints.
Nose

Full, assertive and quite rich with lots of walnut and toasted almond and traces of raisin, maple syrup and moist pipe tobacco along with a faint traces of cigar box, caramel and a distant orange note. It smells quite young still with that fruity note and not a great deal of wood, but it certainly has some elegance and complexity, which can only develop further.

Palate
Big at the start with a good firm structure, then it mellows and softens into a mouth-filling super smooth Oloroso, still quite young with its hints of dried fruit. There is also walnut and a hint of caramel and it has a really attractive texture aided by glycerine. It is a extremely satisfying wine, intensely flavoured and with terrific length.
Comments
This is essentially the same wine as that bottled in February 2016 and in my notes of September 2016. It is now just over 8 years old, this example having been bottled in October 2017, and has developed ½ degree more alcohol and further complexity. The grapes came from old vines in the firm’s vineyards in the pagos Añina and Carrascal and only mosto yema was used. The wine was fortified to 18° and aged statically – not in solera – and sealed by the Consejo Regulador in butts of both 500 and 600 litres capacity. It scored 90 Parker points, but might well earn more for a later saca or after a few years in bottle.

Price

13,95 per 50cl, De Albariza

Fino Ecologico Añada 2015 en rama 15%, Williams &Humbert

Appearance
Deep gold with a faint brassy tinge and bright golden reflections.
Nose

Quite full with marked notes of flor, salinity and minerals and hints of esparto, fresh and dried herbs and a slight brininess. Añada wines are a little fuller as they have been aged statically without being refreshed, so they're a little more concentrated, and this is textbook Fino with more depth than many, especially at not quite 3 years old, and that youth gives it  a certain freshness and elegance.

Palate

Full, with all the above, and there is still just a trace of some appley fruit less noticeable on the nose. It is nice and dry with good texture and a slightly chalky feel, a certain structure and a gentle tang and nicely balanced with good length. This is a delicious wine with some real individual character.

Comments

The 2015 vintage was more or less normal with perhaps a shade less rain than usual. The organically grown grapes came from the pago Burujena, north east of Jerez, near Trebujena. After fermentation the must was fortified to 15.5% with organic fortification spirit and filled into butts for static ageing. Soon the veil of flor appeared and remained healthy till the wine was bottled en rama in March 2018, at around 2.5 years old. By now the yeast had consumed half a percent of alcohol, so the wine had to be bottled. I wonder how it would have turned out if it had been fortified to 16% and left longer... It is not only fascinating and delicious, but it is the first vintage organic Fino from a single vineyard and bottled en rama. Wow!
Price
15,50 per 50cl Licores Corredera

20.5.18 Williams & Humbert Launch New Organic Vintage Fino

Innovation is the name of the game in the Marco de Jerez, more so than almost anywhere else, and Williams & Humbert oenologist Paola Medina, who is making quite a reputation for herself, has come up with yet another: organic vintage Fino en rama from a single pago. The wine is from the 2015 vintage, and the organically grown grapes are from the pago Burujena, northeast of Jerez near Trebujena. After fermentation the must was fortified to 15.5° with organic fortification spirit, and filled into butts. Soon a veil of flor appeared and after a little over three years of static ageing the wine was bottled without filtration but in limited quantities in March 2018 at a strength of 15°. The great thing about vintage wines is that they always reflect the character of their particular year, while solera wines blend away the style of the vintage to produce homogenous wines. The new wine will be available at the firm’s online shop from 21^st May. Another saca was made in March 2018: the Fino Añada (vintage) 2010 which is already available.

24.2.18 Paola Medina in Decanter Top 10 Spanish Winemakers

The prestigious wine Magazine has chosen Williams & Humbert oenologist Paola Medina as the only representative of the Marco de Jerez in an article about the pioneers who are changing the face of Spanish wine by Pedro Ballesteros MW called “Ten Next Generation Spanish Winemakers to Know”. According to the article she “symbolises the so-called Sherry Revolution, which is uniting the energy of youth, and a profound respect their inheritance, with an extraordinary knowledge and creativity” and her work, particularly on vintage biologically aged wines, should be followed closely “to enjoy Sherry as you would never have imagined before”.

The article goes on to say that Paola is “well aware of the need to integrate Sherry with haute cuisine and to focus on quality wines and so she has explored all possibilities to create this wine of the future. For example she is looking at unfortified Sherry made with extra ripe grapes carefully cultivated in the vineyard, Oloroso made with first quality must, the recuperation of Pedro Ximénez and some of the disused grape varieties. But her most extraordinary innovation is the vintage Fino, made by substituting the traditional solera system for static ageing and bottling at the point where the flor is dying off.

Not only did Pedro Ballesteros, a master of wine, praise her work highly, but of the wines selected to represent the work of each of the ten oenologists, Paola’s amazing Fino Tiento 2007 received the highest score, an impressive 98 points.

15.2.18 Williams & Humbert Saving Turtles

Many bodegas in Jerez do important social and cultural work to show their support of various causes, which sometimes extends beyond the city. Williams & Humbert took up the cause of the endangered Tortuga Carey (Hawksbill turtle) four years ago when they adopted one, naming it Luxus after the top version of their outstanding Dos Maderas Rum which is sourced in Nicaragua. They are donating money raised by sales of the rum to a programme called Billion Baby Turtles, part of the ICAPO initiative set up to save them under the umbrella of the charity SEE Turtles.

These turtles play an important role in the preservation of the shallow eco-systems of tropical waters, but despite legal protection they are in danger of extinction as their eggs are stolen and their shells are used for decorative objects. Money is needed to patrol beaches where they nest and lay their eggs, to ensure the babies finally reach the water. So far the campaign has saved over 3,000 turtles thanks to the W&H contribution towards 500 volunteers, a website (tooraretowear.org), and 10,000 students have been educated about them. Donations to the campaign can be made at seeturtles.org/venecia or by buying Dos Maderas Luxus Rum. This excellent rum, is aged in the Caribbean for ten years before ageing for a further five years in Jerez in ex Don Guido VOS Pedro Ximénez butts.

16.1.18 High Parker Scores for Williams & Humbert

Luis Gutiérrez, the Wine Advocate’s Spanish wines specialist, has given some very high scores to Williams & Humbert. Wines scoring 90 to 96 points are “Outstanding wines of exceptional complexity and character, in short, these are terrific wines”. The firm’s Don Zoilo Amontillado and Oloroso scored 90 while Canasta 20 years old, launched at the end of 2016 scored 91. But more exciting still, were the excellent scores achieved by the Añada wines which oenologist Paola Medina has been working on since 2000. The Fino en rama Añada 2012 scored 94 and the Fino en rama Añada 2007”Tiento” scored 93. The Amontillado Añada 2003 scored 92+ while the Olorosos en rama Añadas 2001, 2003 and 2009 scored 92, 91+ and 90 respectively. These very high scores have given great recognition and encouragement to Paola’s pioneering work with single vintage wines, especially in the field of biological ageing, and she is to be congratulated.

Tiento Fino Añada 2007 16%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance

Amber tinged straw - gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Rich, and more powerful than usual for a Fino and very clean. It is very complex with noticeable flor, hints of salinity, straw, dry leaves, a background trace of super ripe apple and its skin, and, well, concentrated Fino. It is a really sophisticated wine and you can smell the heat and dryness of the vineyards and even a slight oxidative note which fits in very well.

Palate

A serious wine, full and textured, dry and bitter. There is an attractive chalky feel in that body and a certain mineral salinity along with a real bitterness from the flor, helped by decent acidity. It has a rapier-like flavour; sharp and straight to the point, but if you roll it around the palate it shows more breadth with autumnal flavours and the faintest trace of tannin. It has incredible length, almost interminable. Superb.

Comments

This incredible wine comes from a May 2017 saca of 1100 bottles, all filled en rama. It comes from two butts (numbers 5 and 6 out of 20) which managed to maintain flor for ten years despite being sealed and having no refreshment, quite something. Grapes came from the Pagos Añina and Carrascal and the wine was made from the first pressing, whose must was carefully selected. It was fortified to 15% and has gained another degree despite the flor, though being statically aged there will have been some transpiration over ten years. This has to be one of the most interesting Sherries - or even wines - that I have tasted, and is a real credit to its maker, Paola Medina, whose experiments with vintage Sherry are producing some fascinating wines. W&H have decided to release a series of vintage Sherries named after Flamenco palos (or styles) which best suit the character of the wine. This first one is named after the Tiento, a profound, majestic and slow style which certainly suits this wine.

Price
25.50 euros per 50cl bottle, Licores Corredera

Canasta Cream VOS 20%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance

Dark mahogany with copper tones fading through amber to a green tinged rim.

Nose

Forthcoming and complex, there's a lot happening here. Figs, dates, raisins, traces of oak, even aromatic woods, brown sugar all wrapped up in caramel. Way beyond a normal Cream Sherry and way better and much more interesting.

Palate

Rich and sweet, with lots of caramel and dried fruits, a hint of walnut, yet the sweetness is beautifully balanced by acidity allowing the intense flavour to come through. There is an attractive texture and no cloying, and the flavours linger for ages. If only all Cream Sherry could be like this.

Comments

This is the extra special version of the best selling Canasta Cream. Standard Canasta is a blend of roughly 75% Oloroso from the pagos Balbaina and Carrascal and 25% PX, and the blend is made at the sobretablas stage, so the wines are homogenised throughout their ageing before the wine is bottled at about six years of age. This is the same wine, introduced in 2016, with an extra 14 years of solera which have given it considerably more complexity and created an absolute classic in which the sweetness is less accentuated and the Oloroso shines through. Brilliant gently chilled after dinner.

Price

30.95 euros per 50cl, Licores Corredera

Fino Añada 2009 Saca Feb 2017 15.5%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance

Quite deep for Fino; mature amber tinged gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Full and developed, different and complex with a certain richness. There are fine notes of oxidation and apple, traces of tobacco and dry leaves as well as quince jelly and hints of flor which are noticeable if a little less pronounced than in some Finos. It is going towards Amontillado, but not quite on the same path as usual; the nose  is perhaps more like that of extended bottle maturation. It is lovely though!

Palate

Full and mature-tasting, low in acid and well rounded, yet there remains a hint of flor bitterness. Fino-Amontillado might best define it, though the term is no longer officially used, but being an añada it cannot be quite the same, though it is nevertheless extremely complex. It is virtually unique in style, fascinating and has great depth of flavour and considerable length.

Comments

Bottled in February 2017 at about seven and a half years old and already long sold out. The grapes as always are from the firm's vineyards in the pagos Añina and Carrascal and only first pressing must was used. The wine was fortified to 15.5%, casked up, sealed by the Consejo and left. There were about 20 butts of the Fino 2009 and the occasional saca, and another was done in April 2017, all in small quantities. If only one could reliably obtain them all and calmly observe the wine develop, but as it is, one just has to take what one can get. Still, even that is a treat.

Price
20 euros per 50cl bottle, Er Guerrita

30.6.17 Williams & Humbert Launch New Online Shop

The new shop stocks all the company’s surprisingly wide range of products from Jabugo ham, cheese and olive oils and vinegar to Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Sherry, Vermouth, liqueurs, rum, brandy, vodka, gin and a variety of gourmet gift packs. Delivery is only available in Spain however. Still, the site is well worth looking at as each product is listed in considerable detail. www.tiendawilliamshumbert.com

Here is a nice little video about it: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8xMfRN8SlA&feature=youtu.be

Palo Cortado Añada 1966, Williams & Humbert

Appearance

Lightish much polished mahogany with golden, copper glints.

Nose

Incredibly fragrant and clean with lots of toasted almond and hazelnut, traces of exotic woods like cedar and faint traces of spice. It is on the light side but almost perfumed, and with a complex array of aromas all combined into a bouquet in which it is hard to pick many of them out. Magnificent.

Palate

The wine is powerful on entry and  dry and fairly crisp yet it opens out like a fan, softened by glycerine and then the flavour floods out; all those nuts, exotic woods and dried leaves, perhaps some of them Dutch tobacco leaves. Tannins are very fine and it has a forceful richness and elegance at the same time. What a wine, bursting with character, and very long. Superb.

Comments

After a butt was kept aside as a vintage for the birthday of a member of the family in 1922, the firm has laid down butts of vintage Sherry every year since 1924. The wines are only lightly fortified and gain their @22% through merma (loss of water through transpiration). Unfortunately they are rarely seen in bottle, and indeed this example was one of just four bottles hand filled without filtration for the Copa Jerez tasting.

Price

N/A

It looks the same as this Oloroso 1966

Williams & Humbert Lecture “The Wine Factories and the Construction of the Capitalist City”

“The wine industry of XIX century Jerez created an urban and rural model unique to Spain. “

This is a précis of the latest in the Williams & Humbert cycle of lectures given last Thursday by Manuel González Fustegueras, president of the Foundation of Contemporary Architecture. Under the title “The wine factories and the construction of the capitalist city” he analysed what took place in Jerez architecturally and urbanistically between the end of the XVIII century and the second third of the XIX, all linked to the world of bodegas, “converting Jerez into a unique city which would become the third largest contributor to the Spanish exchequer and in which the management classes became a part of the most influential political circles in the Spain of the time.”

Manuel Gonzalez Fustegueras with Jesus Medina

In view of the weakness of the industrial revolution in XIX century Spain which left Andalucia as an agricultural backwater, the speaker pointed out how the agro-industry of the wine of Jerez would become one of the first models of capitalist economic development in Spain during the second third of the XIX century. In its interaction with the city it would determine the unique development of the “wine factories” or bodegas and the spaciousness of their design. They were clearly constructed as industrial buildings for the specific needs of wine production, and duly built within the layout of the city – which was altered to suit as necessary - and thus determined the shape of future urban development giving a new image to the city: an industrial estate in which the footprint of bodegas came to exceed 40% of urban land. No other industrial city in Spain ever reached such a high percentage. This immense industrial estate transformed the old city of convents into a unique agro-industrial city affecting production and commercial structures, ownership of the land and agricultural techniques, right down to the urban plan of today.

Had it not been for a certain series of events, however, Jerez would never have become “the city of bodegas” which made it so uniquely different from others, but would likely have been limited to just being a vineyard city or wine city, with its enviable geography, located right down south, with magical spaces and amazing architecture, tiled rooves, patios, lanes and special streets. González Fustegueras outlined those main events which made Jerez become “the city of bodegas” as being the discovery and perfecting of a system which offered a homogeneous product – the solera system; the Royal Decree of 1778 which abolished the ordinances of the Gremio de la Vinatería restricting the storage of wine and which was the first victory for the bourgeois merchants over the growers; the fact that at the time Jerez was in a very scruffy state with rubbish dumps, slums and vacant sites which were cheap and perfect for reconversion into bodegas; the dispossession in 1836 by Mendizábal of Church properties which were snapped up by the ever expanding wine trade; and the lack of regulations relating to bodegas. He also noted that the birth of the capitalist city brought concomitant benefits such as the railway, electric street lighting, a Bank of Spain office and factories for bottles, gas and corks among other commodities.

7.6.17 Latest Williams & Humbert Lecture

Bodegas Williams & Humbert have announced the next in their excellent series of lectures which take place at the bodega. The title is "The Wine Factories and the Building of the Capitalist City" and will be imparted by the architect and urban planner Manuel González Fustegueras, president of the Foundation of Contemporary Architecture. He will talk about how, in the face of the disastrous industrial revolution in Spain, which particularly affected Andalucía, the wine industry of Jerez would become one of the first models of capitalist economic development in Spain during the second third of the XIX century, making way for the construction in the city of a huge industrial park which transformed the preexisting urban and rural model in such a short space of time and so potently that it was unequalled in Spain. This change of model brought with it certain decisive consequences which would be inexplicable elsewhere. A fascinating subject as always, and well worth going if you can, especially since a glass of Sherry is available at the end!

31.5.17 Williams & Humbert Sponsor Flamenco Research Competition

Flamenco is hugely important to Jerez, where many of the very great artists were born, and it is home to the exciting Bulería. Following the excellent news that the Andalusian Museum of Flamenco and a Lola Flores Museum will be constructed from a set of council-owned buildings in the currently scruffy Plaza Belén, comes more good news. Bodegas Williams & Humbert have announced sponsorship of the first Flamenco Research Prize “City of Jerez”. The winner of the 3,000 euro prize will be announced on the 16^th November, Andalusian Flamenco Day, and the date UNESCO proclaimed Flamenco as Patrimony of Humanity.

Jesus medina, the mayor, council officials and Flamenco experts toast the deal

This first edition of the Flamenco Research Prize is dedicated to the great Jerez-born writer and poet, José Manuel Caballero Bonald, much of whose work has a close connection to Flamenco, and the judging panel includes the leading experts. Submissions, which should be unpublished, can focus on any theme so long as it concerns Flamenco de Jerez. Jesús Medina, president of Williams & Humbert emphasised the link between Sherry and Flamenco, saying “they are both part of what we are, our profoundest way of seeing and feeling life. Jerez cannot be understood without its wine, its bodegas and its Flamenco. No city has provided history with more and greater singers, dancers and guitarists. Flamenco and Sherry are our very signs of identity, two of the maximum expressions of our land which form a perfect symbiosis, like the perfection of marrying different Sherries with different styles of Flamenco.” He is absolutely right!

Brandy Gran Duque de Alba Solera Gran Reserva 40%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance

Well patinated mahogany fading through amber with bright copper highlights.

Nose

Rich aromas of well matured brandy, the Oloroso, while obvious, is not dominant and balances well with the fruitiness of the spirit. There are notes of raisin, caramel, vanilla, oak and tobacco but on the whole they are well integrated into a very wholesome whole.

Palate

A touch of sweetness at the start helps acclimatise the palate to the 40 degrees of alcohol then it opens out nicely and very generously with all the above flavours. There will be a little sweetness from the Dry Sack 15 and I'm not certain if any more has been added (it is not uncommon), but it certainly makes for a very enjoyable brandy rounding it off nicely. Good length.
Comments

This is one of the best sellers of the Solera Gran Reservas. It was originally produced by Zoilo Ruiz Mateos which belonged to Rumasa and the solera passed through the bodegas of Diez Merito before finally ending up at Williams & Humbert, thanks to the sell-off of the various Rumasa firms. It comes from an 1889 solera, and the story goes that it is named in honour of Jacobo Fitz-James Stewart y Falcó, XVII Duke of Alba, a descendant of the Jacobites and father of the late Cayetana, Duchess of Alba. The Duke was a friend of the firm's Madrid agent and having been impressed by the brandy, kindly allowed his title to be used for its brand name. Since then W&H have added two other, older versions of the brandy; GDA XO and GDA Oro. They even have a cream liqueur using GDA as a base. It is made from Airén grapes with a little Palomino fermented at low temperature to conserve primary aromas. The wine is only lightly filtered leaving a little of the lees in suspension on arrival at the still. Distillation is carried out in alquitaras at a very slow rate to achieve the best possible estery holandas at 65%. The spirit is then racked into butts seasoned with Dry Sack Oloroso 15 Year Old and goes to the 10th criadera of the solera. Twelve years later it emerges as this delicious brandy.

Price
25 euros from the Corte Ingles